


Weapon (Loki X Reader)

by Cumbercookie



Category: Captain America (Movies), Guardians of the Galaxy (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Betrayal, Death, Doctor Strange - Freeform, Double Agents, F/M, Fighting, Frigga did not die, Infinity Gauntlet, Infinity Gems, Jötunn Loki, Kidnapping, Loki Feels, Loki didn't die in Dark World, Loki is Alive, Magic, Major Character Injury, Marvel Universe, Multi, Mutant Powers, No Pietro or Wanda, No vision, Sex, Torture
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-29
Updated: 2018-04-30
Packaged: 2018-05-03 23:19:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 51
Words: 121,208
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5310905
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cumbercookie/pseuds/Cumbercookie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>*AU: Neither Loki nor Frigga 'died' in Dark World and Loki has been pardoned for helping save the 9 realms. Age of Ultron is non existent in this universe. </p><p>Alina Everton is a prominent scientist specializing in Forensics and Biochemistry. Even after working for the NYPD, SHIELD and the Scotland Yard she is unprepared for her prompt kidnapping by two Gods of Asgard. The one event on a snowy evening leads to the discovery of her possession and abilities with Infinity Gems and her destiny to protect the 9 realms against Thanos and his unrelenting lust for ultimate control. </p><p>Features a lot of time with The Avengers and on Asgard. Progressing story line.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Mortal

**Author's Note:**

> Enjoy :)

In hindsight, she probably should have brought her coat. 

She wasn’t sure what made her decide to leave her coat in the lab. Stupidity probably. It was a classic bitterly cold January night in London’s back alleys and to leave any building without an overcoat was either a death wish or pure stupidity. She bargained on the latter. However, living only a few blocks away it did not bother her. She knew the alleys well after a year of working between the MI5 and Scotland Yard and had nothing to fear from the drunks, homeless or anyone else due to the cold. 

Snow began to fall lightly. She sighed in a similar manner to the falling flakes; quietly. In a loose white peasant shirt, she shivered and scanned the small street in front of her. It was quiet, empty bar a tall figure leaning against a street light not 20 meters from where she was walking. The snow was illuminated by the dying streetlight but it did nothing to identify the figure. Knowing the risks of stopping, she continued to process him as she neared his position: Tall, male, buff, well clothed, a beard possibly or just long hair- it was hard to tell.   
5 meters from him and the man shifted his position, allowing himself to be fully illuminated by the flickering street lamp. He was now standing directly in her path, clad in what appeared to her as armour. Steel breast plates, shoulder plates, leather pants and to add insult to injury, a bright red cape which brushed the ground. 

She stopped a few meters in front of him, her eyebrows raised somewhat skeptically. She said nothing.   
He appeared to survey her curiously and she met his eyes with a certain amount of forced hostility. 

“You are Lady Alina Everton?” His voice was deep and rumbling with power. 

“I am. May I help you?” 

The man smiled. 

“Indeed you can. I am Thor of Asgard and it would be greatly appreciated if you would come with me.” 

“I most certainly will not go anywhere with you Mr…. Asgard?” Alina replied sarcastically 

She could've sworn she heard a chuckle from the alley to the left of her. Brashly, she reached for her waist only to remember she did not have either of her guns. Thor noticed.

“We mean you no harm” 

Alina jerked her head up. 

“We?” She queried 

“Yes…. we” A voice drawled from behind her.

Reflexively, Alina turned to face the second man and found herself face to face, or rather face to neck with a tall, dark haired man with piercing green eyes. She tensed up more so, careful not to step backwards into the blonde man. At 5’7” she had to look up to glare at the man in the eyes. He didn’t appear in the least threatened. 

“We require your participation Miss Everton” Thor spoke

Alina turned to him. She was aware of extraterrestrial appearances after her work in New York but this felt different. They were different. They looked human to a certain extent barring the odd get up and armour which they sported. 

“And what do you need my participation with?” She asked 

“We need you to come with us. All will be explained”

“That will not be happening sir” she replied indignantly

Loki grabbed her from behind, wrapping around her forearms and holding her firmly against his chest. Alina didn’t move. It felt as if the whole scene had frozen. Thor remained still, looking down at her, Loki kept her still against his chest, she did not struggle. The only thing moving was the snow falling and gathering at their feet. A single light was on in an apartment but there was no noise. Thor and Alina stared at one another, reaching an impasse.

Thor nodded to Loki and turned around, walking away. Loki followed, dragging Alina with him. For some odd reason a calmness had come over her, she felt lethargic and unable to find the energy to move or fight back. Instead she went limp, allowing the raven hair man to drag her along with him. They were now stood in the middle of the road and Loki dropped her body into the snow. She could have sworn she saw the curtain pull back in a window and a face peer out.

Thor gave him a pointed look. Loki rolled his eyes.

“Do we leave?” Loki asked

“Indeed. I imagine we shouldn’t keep people waiting. You know how father is”

Loki sneered.

Alina began to shiver a little but lacked the energy to even prop herself up anymore. As she lay on her side, her eyes began to flicker and she felt the overwhelming urge to close them and sleep. Her training said no and she fought the feeling fiercely. At this thought, Loki glanced down at her with raised eyebrows. 

“Loki?” Thor queried 

“She’s fighting my enchantment”

“Loki now is no time to court a lady” Thor lectured 

“No you imbecile I mean she’s fighting the magic. She should be out cold by now”

“You know the circumstances” Thor said with a lowered voice.

Both men looked down at her and Alina did her utter best to attempt a glare back up at them. 

“Let’s go” Thor spoke

Loki lifted her into his arms.

“Heimdall” Thor roared

Before her vision was attacked by flashes of colour and blackness, Alina could have sworn she heard vehicles skidding and pulling up behind them and a shout to stop. She squeezed her eyes shut, waiting for shots or screams but all that came was an intense jostling movement and harsh wind. By the time it stopped she felt as if someone had taken her by the head and shaken her violently. 

Everything felt unruly and muddled. Her head banged and when she attempted to open her eyes the brightness forced them closed again. She stood leaning against a cold wall and slowly attempted to open her eyes again, with more success. What greeted her made her want to shut her eyes again. 

She was leaning against the wall of a massive golden dome with a raised platform in the middle. It resembled some sort of golden observatory. 

But how did we get here so quickly, she thought, fear setting in as she considered her escape options. There appeared to be none. The entire dome was enclosed. 

To her immediate right stood the two men who had grabbed her in the street, Thor and Loki. They were grouped, speaking with 4 other strangely dressed people. On the raised platform stood a man who was clothed in golden armor and held a sword pointed at his feet. He glanced your way and spoke a soft word to the group below him. 

They turned to face you. Alina reciprocated, taking a deep breath and pushing off the wall to stand off from the wall.   
A blonde man with messy hair and perfectly polished armour took a step forward and threw her a charming smile. 

“My My she is a pretty one isn’t she? I would not have guessed she is a mere mortal! An Asgardian Queen perhaps?”   
She tilted her head ever so slightly and stared, staying silent. She knew better than to open her mouth in such a situation. As if on queue the man spoke again.

“Ah! How rude of me! My name is Fandral of the warriors three, protector of the realms” 

He strutted forward to kiss her hand. Alina raised her eyebrows. The situation was completely perplexing and she was unsure what to make of it. 

“A pleasure… Fandral. I’m Alina” she spoke evenly 

A wicked grin formed on his features as he looked her over.

“Such a lovely demeanor. This is Volstagg, Hogun and Lady Sif and I am sure you are well acquainted with our dear Thor and Loki”

He gestured towards his friends. Volstagg sported a large ginger beard, stark contrast to the neat, dark haired Hogun. Lady Sif was a woman with dark hair and eyes contrasted against brilliant silver and maroon armour and a even posture. They were warriors, no doubt about it. And this was certainly not MI6, SHIELD, or anywhere else on earth. 

“Again, a pleasure. Where is this?”

“Tis the eternal realm of Asgard, Lady Alina” Volstagg spoke

“And tell me how do I get back to the slightly less eternal realm of Earth?” 

“You don’t. Not right now anyway” Loki smirked

“Smile like that one more time and I am going to break your pretty neck” she hissed 

Confusion, doubt and fear were beginning to set in but she remained level. Worrying right now would only cause her to make stupid decisions and right now, she needed answers. 

Loki chuckled.

“You are a fiery mortal”

“I’ll set you on fire…” she muttered, leaning back against the wall.

Thor took a cautious step towards her. He did not wish to scare her, treating the girl as a scared animal.

“Lady Alina, we need you to accompany us to the palace.”

“No”

“You do not even know what is going on” Lady Sif pointed out

“And I do not wish to”

“My you are a stubborn one” Hogun murmured 

Alina glared daggers at the man. She had begun to feel cornered in her position but the dome seemed to have no other opening to escape to and so she held her position, attempting to stay calm. 

This shattered as Loki appeared suddenly to the right of her. She gasped loudly and reached quickly to throw a punch but he smoothly blocked it, grabbing her by the wrist. Their faces were centimeters apart and she sneered at him angrily but realizing her position, chose not to move. 

Loki laughed gently at the girls’ fiery resoluteness and the attack that nearly threw him off guard. She was hot headed yet intriguing. Her decisions, although angry, seemed calculated and formed. He almost regretted what he was about to do.

“I am sorry about this darling” 

With his free hand, he placed two fingers to her forehead and subsequently knocked her out cold, dropping her gently to the ground.

“Loki was that really necessary?” Thor sighed

“Please Thor, You and I both know she is stubborn and resolute and we still do not know fully of the power that it is suspected she possesses. It is best for now that she is easily transported.” 

“For once, I agree with Loki” Volstagg grunted

Sif shook her head in disdain. Loki had the cheek to call this mortal stubborn and resolute. At her annoyed thought, Fandral strode toward Loki and Sif feared perhaps he was going to try and defend the girls honour or something equally as ridiculous. Instead, he sidestepped the raven haired prince and checked the girl for injuries before picking her up and glancing around him. 

“Shall we go then?”


	2. The Soul Gem

The last thing Alina remember was Loki grinning smugly as he brought his hand to her temple. As she came to, she prayed to whatever deity was controlling all this that she did not open her eyes to see that smug grin again out of fears she would punch him. 

Thankfully, as she opened her eyes she did not see that. Instead, she saw a golden swirling mist which two kindly woman seemed to be manipulating with their fingers. Tentatively, she sat up. It was unlikely harm would come to her, considering everything that had previously happened and the fact that she was not restrained or injured. At least, that is what she reasoned. 

Both women stepped back and watched her wearily as she stretched out after lying on a cold slab of stone. One nodded to the other, who hurried out of the room. 

“Who are you?” Alina questioned, determined to get as many answers as possible.

“I am Franzela, a royal healer of Asgard” 

“And what does that mean, Franzela?”

“I am employed by King Odin to attend to all his requests and to the royal army and family if any health issues or wounds should arise”

“I am not of this Royal family of Asgard nor am I a ‘royal’ warrior” she said calmly 

“Perhaps not. However you are here on the Prince’s requests”

“The Princes?”

“Prince Thor and his Brother Loki. They brought you in here unconscious and requested I run full scans on you”

So the kidnappers were brothers and princes. Somehow, it seemed fitting of their appearances. 

“I see. Why did they do that?”

The woman smiled. She had a kind face and was greying quite heavily.

“That is for them to explain. Or rather, their father to explain. He has seen the results of the scanning”

“What were they?”

“Like I said, that is for them to explain to you” 

As Alina went to persuade Franzela of a little more information, the door opened and the other woman walked back in accompanied by Thor, Loki, The Warriors Three, and Lady Sif. 

“Lady Alina! It is a pleasure to see you are awake and ever so beautiful as you were before” Fandral exclaimed, once again kissing her hand and bowing slightly. 

This time, Alina flinched back. Her mind was occupied by thoughts of this odd place she had been taken to and whatever scans had been done to her and why. Mentally, she checked her body for any signs of druggage or implantation but she felt no different to how she had felt back in London, slightly more drained but healthy. The only physical discrepancies she could feel were from lying on the stone slab. 

Fandral noticed her reaction and took a cautious step backwards. The girl seemed more flighty than she had been previously at the Bifrost and now examined her surroundings in a manner which suggested she had some sort of training. 

The others also took notice of Alina’s manner and Thor took the opportunity to try and calm her.

“Lady Alina..?” He spoke gently

“Yes?”

“Would you please come with us? We have important matters to attend to in the Throne room.”

“And if I don’t?” Her voice was even and calculated 

Loki took a step forward with a sly smirk on his features. Thor placed a firm hand on his shoulder, preventing him from moving to close.

“Noted” Alina nodded, swinging herself off of her resting place. 

The walk to the Throne room was one spent in quiet. The floors appeared to made of a fine polished marble and their boots clicked across it at a brisk pace. Ignoring the consistent jangling of armour, Alina took the chance to survey her surroundings. 

They were impressive to say the least.

Every corridor which she walked through was ornately decorated with corinthian arches of marble and gold, the walls were lined with tapestries and beautifully decorated torch holders and the floors were reflective. Every now and then they would come across a maid who would bow and scurry out of the way or a soldier identifiable only by his armour who would nod at her companions and then glance curiously at her.  
Distracted by the ornateness which surrounded her, she failed to notice the massive wooden and gold doors they were approaching. Cursing herself for not being more attentive, she glanced at Fandral on her left and raised an eyebrow. 

He smiled back at her.

“Nothing to fear. Queen Frigga keeps the Allfather well in line” He chuckled

Sif punched him. And they stood in front of the doors as they slowly opened. 

What was behind them truly was fit for a King. The room was massive beyond comprehension with a high vaulted ceiling and pillars the width of pine trees. It was bright and airy and yet again decorated with carefully placed gold. At the direct opposite end to where they stood was a throne surrounded by smaller pillars and on that throne sat the only person who could ever be described by the name Allfather.

Alina swallowed and set her jaw. The room felt tense as they approached the throne and as the warriors went to bow, Odin raised his hand. They stood and resumed their positions slightly behind and to the side of her. 

It was quiet. 

To the left of Odin stood a woman dressed in a well fitted blue gown and cape which fell neatly around her to the floor. Both her, and her husband surveyed her in silence before Odin rose from his throne and spoke to his Sons.

“You have taken your time or is she more developed than we had originally thought?” He rumbled

He began walking down the steps towards her as Thor replied.

“No Father. She has yet to exhibit any signs of development” 

“She was not however, happy to come with us” Loki added sarcastically

Had it not been for the rapidly approaching King and Queen Frigga behind him, Alina would have shot him a very deftly look. 

 

“I see” Odin spoke 

He was now directly in front of her and Alina was determined not to break eye contact. Like she had with Thor, she stared the man down in a calm manner. In her peripheral vision she saw Frigga place a hand on each of her Son’s shoulders before turning a worried look to her. 

“So this is the mortal which possesses a power existent before the universe began” Odin said with clarity  
Alina said nothing in response. She had no answer to give him. Thankfully, Thor stepped in for her.

“It is as we believed. However she is yet to display any signs of power” 

Odin laughed. The man actually laughed.

“No but I had the healers look into her mind and body. The soul gem ether is within her”

“As Jane and the Dark Ether? The Power Gem?” Thor queried

“Yes and no. This mortal is different to your mortal girl Thor”

At this Sif hid a laugh and Thor looked confused. 

“Her name is Jane” He muttered

“Is there anyway to rid her of the Gem’s power? As we did with Thor’s mortal woman?” Loki asked

“As I said, this mortal is different. The circumstances are different. Thor’s mortal forced herself upon the Ether by chance and the Ether needed a vessel to survive so she was chosen. This mortal girl as far as we know has always possessed the soul gem. It does not need to reside within her to survive yet it chooses to and so it will not leave her body as the dark ether left Thor’s mortal. Her eyes enough should be explaination for that” 

His comment was curious. She had deep forest green eyes and people often commented upon first meeting her that her eyes were the most intense green they’d ever seen. However it was nothing unusual. Some people possessed incredibly bright blue eyes so it was little concern or speculation to her. 

Loki picked up on her confusion. 

“The Soul Gem is inherently a bright green or on occasion, gold. Your eyes are reflective of this character trait of the gem”

“Is that why you’re dressed in green?” She quipped, annoyed at his confusing answer. 

She had no idea what a ‘Soul Gem’ or ‘Ether’ was. His explanation had done little to help her understand the situation. 

“No. I just like the colour.” He smirked. 

“Enough” Odin commanded 

Alina rose her chin defiantly. 

“I have no idea what a gem is or what the ether is or why on earth you think I have it. I assure you, I do not” 

Odin assessed her with a weary look. 

“There are 6 Infinity Gems, older than the universe itself, they are scattered amongst the universe. On Asgard, we posses the Space stone, locked away in the tesseract. The reality stone which presented itself in Ether form to Thor’s Mortal, is in the safe possession of Taneleer Tivan at his Museum. The Power, Mind and Time Gems are still lost throughout the Universe and present themselves in various forms. You, are in possession of the Soul Gem.”

“Something tells me I would be aware if I possessed a cosmic power” She replied deftly 

“We have been watching you for quite some time. There is a powerful presence surrounding you and our healers scans only confirm it. You are the possessor of the Soul Gem”

“But Allfather, it is foretold that only the most powerful beings can wield a Infinity Gem without being killed by it’s power” Sif prompted 

It was at this point that Frigga spoke for the first time.

“That is true, Sif. However, I myself have been looking into Lady Everton and we are under the impression that her bloodline may be traced back to an ancient race similar to the Celestials who are granted dominion and ability to hold and control the power of the gems.” 

“So why green? And do they each possess a different colour?” Alina smiled 

Fandral broke into fits of laughter at her question. 

“What?” She glared 

“It’s just.. It’s just-” He snorted with laughter 

Alina rose her eyebrows. 

“I’m sorry my lady” he continued “It’s just you hold one of the universe's oldest powers and you are asking about it’s colour!”

“Well, so far it doesn’t seem to do anything else” she replied

The room fell silent at the comment. Odin and Frigga exchanged a small glance and Odin sighed. 

“It does far more than possess brilliant colour, mortal. Each gem has different abilities and are unparalleled in their destructive capabilities. The power of all six gems can be collected together or used individually however when used in combination they tend to be more powerful. Wielders of the gems have increased powers depending on their skill and the amount of experience they have with the gems. The gems themselves can liquidate themselves into a form called ‘Ether’, this can then be absorbed by chosen beings. You possess the Soul Gem in an Ether form within you” 

Alina looked at the floor, processing the information. 

Frigga looked at the girl, concerned. Odin was yet to mention of the prophecy in the ancient scripts talking of a mortal girl who would harness the gems and stop the darkness taking control of the universe. She doubted he would. The girl looked up, brushing her long dark brown hair out of her face before speaking. 

“And the Soul Gem… What does it do? 

“It is dependent. It will, from the books, give the holder basic magic abilities if they do not already possess them. However the Gems purpose gives the ability to revert a being to their original or natural state if they have been possessed or influenced. It may also give the holder the ability to observe or attack other beings spirits.” 

“And I am here because…?”

“Like all first time magic, it needs to be triggered by something” Frigga spoke quietly

“So I am here so you can trigger it?”

“You possess a power unparalleled to anyone in the 9 realms. You would be an asset to Asgard and Midgard alike” Odin rumbled

“Midgard?”

“Earth” Loki spoke “We need to first trigger your abilities and then determine your control over them and teach you to do just that”

“And how long will that take?”

“We do not know. However, you mustn't worry. We have placed explanations for your sudden disappearance on Midgard.” Thor smiled 

“How considerate” Alina replied dryly 

The room was quiet. Alina considered her options. Escape seemed unlikely if she was indeed on a different planet completely and after New York, she did not wish to test her boundaries with other worldlies. It was equally as unlikely they would simply let her return to Midgard and if she was dangerous, she would prefer not to. 

“It seems I have no choice do I?” 

Frigga gave a small smile. 

“Show her to her chambers


	3. Pride

_Alina was escorted out of the room by 2 soldiers. Before she exited the large doors she glanced over her shoulder curiously, assessing the room. As soon as the doors swung closed behind her, conversation began._   
  
_“Odin you did not tell her of the Prophecy” Frigga scolded_   
  
_The girl deserved to know what she was being thrown into. Albeit, she had handled the entire situation surprisingly well._   
  
_“It is not time. She is a mortal and easily blinded by pride and gluttony. The time will come when she is to know and the time will come after she has activated and gained control over the Soul Gem”_   
  
_“So we are to lie to her?” Thor spoke_   
  
_“Yes. Odinson, we are to lie to her. For now”_   
  
_There was silence._   
  
_“Are you afraid of her?” Loki asked quietly, his voice curious_   
  
_“Loki?” Frigga responded_   
  
_“She has the potential to wipe out Asgard as we know it. I am merely curious as to what plan you have here, considering lying to people in the past hasn’t exactly turned out well”_   
  
_Another quiet lull._   
  
_“She will be told when the time is right.”_   
  
_“And what of the soul gem and her powers?” Thor asked_   
  
_“She will need to be trained in combat and in magic if she has any chance of controlling the gem”_

_“She is already well trained in combat dear” Frigga murmured_   
  
_The group turned their attention to her._   
  
_“I felt she had a warrior's stance but I did not think she was… well.. trained, my Queen” Fandral said_   
  
_“No. She is indeed trained in many forms of combat. I have been looking into the girl since our situation came to light. She will easily adapt in any combat situation, you underestimate her for being a mortal. I would not do so”_   
  
_“What makes you say such a thing, mother? She is indeed but a mortal” Loki sneered_

  
_“A mortal that is powerful enough to wield an Infinity Gem. And a Mortal who has worked and trained with Thor’s SHIELD on Midgard. She is respectable and I fear, a formidable enemy. She holds herself with a calm presence but I see her calculating everything around her, making constant decisions and observations. My only word of advice is to not underestimate the girl, she holds great power”_   
  


_“She is a mortal none the less” Odin spoke_   
  
_Frigga sighed. Her husband was forever blinded by Asgardian superiority._   
  
_“And what of the girls training?” Sif asked_   
  
_Odin glanced at Loki. Loki raised his eyebrows._   
  
_“You cannot be serious.” Sif blanched_   
  
_“Like it or not, Loki is a powerful sorcerer and if anyone can activate the Soul Gem it will be him.”_   
  
_Loki said nothing, eyebrows still raised. Frigga added to Odin’s words;_   
  
_“What the Allfather says is true. It will take powerful magic use to render her full abilities and a powerful sorcerer to aid this. Loki may be the best shot at breaking the barrier”_   
  
_“And what if I disagree to teach the mortal?” Loki asked_   
  
_“You will not.” Frigga smiled_   
  
_“What makes you so sure Mother?” Thor queried_   
  
_“He is interested in the girl and her abilities. Even he senses the power she holds and is curious as to her reactions of the situation.”_

__**  
**Loki smirked.  
  
“And what if…” Volstagg faded off  
  
“What if I corrupt her? Betray Asgard?” Loki chuckled   
  
“This is his chance to prove himself as reprimanded after his previous actions” Odin said firmly  
  
“As you wish” Loki shrugged   
  
“And of weaponry and hand to hand combat?” Fandral asked   
  
“We shall allow you to commence that tomorrow, since you all seem so eager. Although I fear you may be surprised” Frigga smiled   
  
“She is a mortal” Sif said simply   
  
The warriors and Princes took their leave and Frigga smiled slightly at their receding figures. She had a good feeling about this young mortal girl. 


	4. Assumptions

Waking up the next morning was possibly the oddest experience Alina had ever had. She had been kidnapped her fair share of times, woken up with different men- and women, been drugged, and she had even woken up next to a body which she had fallen asleep next to after working for 3 days with no sleep. 

However, waking up in the lavish room which she had been guided to with a wardrobe full of clothing and shoes that fit her perfectly and a bathroom the size of any normal sized room was a scarily pleasant experience. 

Upon leaving her bed, she noticed a tray of food had already been set up on the small table near the window. It was laden with fruits and breads among other delicacies she did not recognised. Cautiously, she popped a strawberry in her mouth and gagged a little on it’s sweetness. The food here was definitely more flavoursome. 

It took her 20 minutes to get dressed purely due to her confusion at the wardrobe choices. It ranged from gowns like the one she had seen Queen Frigga wearing to bootlegs and armoured crop tops. After a certain amount of exasperation, she settled on black pants with black leather boots that reached up past her shin. The shirt was a little bit more of a mission as it cinched in at the waist in a plated armor resembling a corset which matched the gold plated shoulders. Over the back a hood fell onto her shoulders and she left it down, off her face.

At her waist she noticed a sword sheath. She shrugged, slightly annoyed at their decision to not actually give her a sword. Asgard was indeed an odd place. A sudden thought occurred that she was yet to actually look out of the double door balcony which she assumed looked over the city. She made a move towards the balcony when a sharp knock sounded on her door. 

Picking up a knife left beside the fruits and holding it behind her back, she crept towards the large wooden door and cautiously opened it. Loki stood outside. 

“Oh” she said, opening the door wider and tossing the knife back onto the fruit table.

“Was that for me?” he grinned 

“It was for your neck” she responded dryly 

“I can think of better things to put near my neck” he said silkily

Alina raised her eyebrows. 

“Are you here for a reason… Loki?” 

“I am here to collect you actually. Lady Sif and the Warriors Three wish to train you this morning” 

“Uh huh. I’m guessing you guys don’t use guns?” 

“Not like you are used to on Midgard.” 

“Swords it is then. So be it” She sighed 

She walked out of the room and Loki swung the door shut behind him. Pointedly, she stopped and looked at him. 

“What.. Miss Everton?” Loki smirked 

“Alina.. It’s Alina and in case you didn’t notice I have no idea where I am going”

“Well.. Alina..” he spoke, rolling her name over his tongue “Accompany me”

They walked down staircases, corridors and halls which all resembled the ones she had walked through yesterday, in some manner or form. There were different doors, statues and people of course but the marble and gold decor remained the same. Loki strode the halls as if he had walked them his entire life, and he probably had. 

They passed a few guards on their way, all of which glanced quickly at Loki and then stared at her. She met eyes with every single one of them, calmly and assessing. After a while however, it became unnerving. 

“Why do they look at us like that? The guards.”

Loki glanced at her. 

“I am a reborn traitor and you are the mortal girl which the entire kingdom is interested about.” 

“Right..” she murmured 

“Oh don’t worry. They’re far more interested in you. Fandral could not stop blabbing to anyone that would listen last night that he had met you and you were ‘the most beautiful mortal he had ever seen’” 

Alina rolled her eyes. She couldn’t tell whether Loki was lying or not but it seemed like Fandral from what little she knew of him.

They walked the rest of the way in silence. The air hung tense around them and Alina felt a strange feeling in Loki’s presence. Somewhere in between tenseness and curiosity. Her thoughts about the tall, dark haired man were cut off as she heard the clang of swords and the jostling of armor. 

She perked her head up as they rounded a corner and entered a large open plan courtyard. It resembled a sort of hollowed out dust pit in the middle which numerous warriors were training in. Their weapons ranged from oddly curved broad swords to long sticks with ends that sparked a shocking blue. Around the outside where they stood, woman in fine gowns and resting warriors watched the fighting going on below. 

Loki leaned closer to her. 

“I would avoid making a fool of yourself” he muttered 

Alina glanced back dryly. Before she had a chance to say anything, Sif approached them. Her armor was covered in fine dust and she had a small cut on her forehead. Fandral followed behind her closely and Alina could feel the eyes of every woman in the vicinity follow him with ernest. 

“Good morning Lady-!”

“Alina. Just call me Alina”

“Well you are looking fine this morning. I trust you got a good night's rest?”

“Yes, I should think so”

“Excellent. This morning we are going to give you the basics on some of these weapons” Sif said, throwing her a pole. 

Alina raised her eyebrows, catching the pole with one hand and putting pressure on the middle. It immediately extended, throwing out blue electric sparks on each end. 

“I have been observing” Alina said simply

Sif nodded curiously. The girl was a fast learner. 

“Right, so what you have in your hand is a stun stick. We use them in training to imitate the real ones in battle. The real ones do not stun, they kill. This however will simply knock your opponent to the ground and sometimes unconscious for a few minutes”

“Anywhere it should not touch a person’s body?” Alina asked 

“Try keep it off from the face. It won't kill anyone but it’ll give a nasty shock” Fandral laughed

Alina spun the pole around two fingers, watching it’s movement and analysing its weight. 

 

After a few rounds with Sif, she felt at ease with the stun stick. She had been trained from a child up how to deal with different weapons and combat styles. And, working with every agency from Scotland Yard to SHIELD required a new training set every time. A pain in the ass, but it had meant she was well skilled in hand to hand and weaponry combat.

She did not wish to display any signs of training or talent to Sif. There was still a certain amount of distrust, despite the fact that she was almost certain that these people did not wish to hurt her. So she made a few purposeful errors, fumbling the stick, allowing her guard to be lowered. 

To the side, Hogun and Volstagg had joined Fandral and Loki. Hogun chuckled at the girl. 

Fandral gave him a questioning look. 

“For her first time she does well however she is no warrior” he replied simply.

After 15 more minutes of sparring, Sif called a break and a heavily armed man approached them. Alina watched as the gowned woman's’ eyes followed this man like they had followed Fandral. 

A heartthrob no doubt, she thought.

He greeted Sif, Loki and the Warriors Three and spoke with them on the weather and a young man named “Joseph” who was getting particularly good in the pit apparently. Alina watched, assessing the new man and the response he was gaining from her known companions. 

Fandral seemed friendly yet slightly stand offish, Sif rolled her eyes a lot, Loki was yet to actually speak and Volstagg and Hogun spoke in a friendly manner. She gathered that he seemed to be a bit of elaborate and self absorbed. At that thought his he glanced to the side and caught eyes with her, immediately focusing his attention.

“Ah I see. Fandal it seems you were not elaborating when you spoke of the Midgardians beauty” He winked 

“I would never do such a thing when it came to a Lady’s beauty” Fandral remarked 

Sif noticeably scoffed. Internally, Alina did the same.

“And by what name graces your lovely lips” The man asked 

“Alina Everton” she replied 

He reached for her hand, kissing it. It seemed to be a thing here.

“I am Eli Whitten, a warrior and commander in Asgard's Royal Army” 

The conversation went on and on with which it progressed further and further into Eli bragging to the group about kills in battle, situations he had so valiantly overcome, his natural talent for fight and so on. Humble was the complete opposite of what he could be described as and he was becoming increasingly annoying. 

By this point, Thor had joined. 

“Ah Eli! I see you are taking a break from your duties?” he said jovially 

“Thor, a pleasure! I am indeed. I was just telling the lovely Lady Alina of my unbeaten streak in the training pit!” 

Sif hissed at this. It had been established that she was yet to beat him. He may be full of himself but he was talented beyond a doubt. 

Thor chose to ignore his remark to avoid angering Lady Sif. He was curious as to the training of Lady Alina. 

“How is it going?” he asked Sif

“She is good. Handles the sparring sticks with progressive ease.” she replied simply 

“Ah! I was unaware we were training Midgardians now” Eli grinned 

Alina stayed silent. The man was pissing her off. 

“You are aware of the circumstances no doubt” Loki interjected 

“Indeed. How curious. I would be interested in a spar sometime” he looked at her

“Why not now? I have the time” she replied coldly 

Eli seemed shocked by her question. He took a moment before he replied. 

“As you wish, I will do my best to go easily for you”

“No need” Alina replied calmly, taking up a sparing pole and jumping lightly into the pit. 

Eli did the same. 

Gently, she pushed the middle of the pole and electric ends projected from it. She twirled it a few times between her fingers before setting back into a stance that could only be described as predator like, a small smile gracing her face. 

It was time to show the Asgardians how little they knew.


	5. Surprises and Magic

As Alina landed in the pit, Odin and Frigga approached the group. 

“What is going on?” Odin asked 

“Lady Alina just challenged Eli to a spar... My king.” Fandral trailed off

“We shall see how she does then” Odin replied simply

“You are not going to stop this madness, Father?” Thor asked, surprised 

“No. The mortal must prove herself or prove herself foolish” 

Frigga smiled. She was well aware of Alina’s extensive training and had no doubt that if she did not beat Eli, she would certainly give him a run for his money. She had faith in the girl's collective demure. 

Below them Eli and Alina had begun to circle one another, sparring poles in hands. 

“Make your move” Alina smiled 

“It is only courteous to allow the Lady to make the first move”

“Like I said… Make your move” she smirked 

They were being watched intently by the woman and warriors around the outside of the pit. It was likely they were doubting her severely. She was just a ‘Midgardian’ girl to them. 

While her thoughts were distracted in annoyance, Eli moved towards her quickly and went for a jab directly at her shoulder. She moved swiftly out of the way and smashed his pole out of the way, sparks flying, sending him stumbling forward. 

They spent at least 10 minutes like this, spinning, jabbing and connecting their sparring poles in a series of quick movements. Alina had managed to knock Eli backwards hard with a kick to the chest when he whistled and indicated with his fingers to two warriors standing at the barrier. 

“Care for more of a challenge?” He grinned 

“If you feel you need it” Alina responded simply, taking the reprieve to gather herself and observe the two men jumping into the pit. 

They positioned themselves to the side and slightly in front of Eli, forming a triangle. They too extended their poles outwards and stepped forward. 

Alina stood for a moment and then moved with lethal precision, dropping her own weapon and jumping at the two men. She connected her foot with the first man's chest, using it as a jump pad to kick the other man in the face. Gracefully she flipped and rolled to the ground, gathering up one of the downed man’s poles and striding towards Eli without breaking pace. 

Sick of the game play, she swiftly threw her weight into connecting her sparring pole to his, twisting her own under his and flicking it out of his hand and landing a powerful kick to the abdomen, sending him onto the ground. She pointed the electrified end of her own pole to his neck, looking down at him. 

“Don’t get cocky” she said quietly before tossing her pole to the side and exiting the pit. 

She had a small cut on her temple from where Eli had managed to connect his pole to her but the blood was already drying and she doubted it would result in infection. The people around the pit had erupted into murmurs and low conversation as Alina approached Lady Sif and the other warriors. She noted that Odin and Frigga had now joined them. Frigga had a small smile on her face.

“It seems you have been holding back” Sif noted 

Alina simply replied with a calm look. 

Loki grinned. The girl had a killer instinct about her. He’d watched her attack Eli and the two other men with tact and precision. She was not a fighter of brutishness or force like Thor or Sif, she was quick and precise. She fought with the acute training and skill of an assassin. It was at this moment he realised he had been staring. 

“I do think you owe the Lady an apology, Hogun” Loki murmured 

Hogun simply nodded, saying nothing. 

“I think combat is done for today.. You are welcome to train with us whenever you wish” Sif said 

“I will take you up on that” 

Odin watched her, a look of consideration crossing his face before he nodded and moved to walk away. 

“Told you” Frigga smiled, her comment directed towards Thor and Sif

As Frigga and Odin took their leave, Eli approached them. 

Alina looked over her shoulder at him. Her eyebrow quirking slightly at the sight of the disheveled man. He took her hand and kissed it, this time for much longer, not looking her in the eye. She waited patiently to retract himself.

“It seems I underestimated your talent. You are a fierce warrior M’lady.”

“It seems you did” 

“In celebration of your shocking victory, would you care for a drink?” he flashed a smile 

“Actually, she’s not done for today” Loki interjected, taking her arm and pulling her inside. 

“No?” she questioned, amused and relieved at his decision to cut that meeting short. 

“No. Magic is what you are here for, not obliterating our army” he smirked 

“Can’t I do that with magic too” she quipped 

“If I teach you well enough” 

“Well then let us hope you are better at teaching magic then Eli is at fighting”

“I assure that will not be hard. However, I have never seen him beaten so.. quickly”

“He is predictable. His cockiness clouds his better judgement. You can see his movements coming from a mile away and I am experienced. You are lucky, I know nothing about what you are about to try and teach me” she smiled gently

“True”

“Where are we going?” 

“Somewhere not here.” He held out his hand

“What are you scared?” she jived 

He rolled his eyes. Cautiously she placed her hand on top of his. She had only blinked for no more than a second but they were very suddenly and very obviously in a different room completely. 

“What the fuck?” she swore

Loki laughed and pushed open the shutters on a few windows. The room was large and airy and 2 walls were lined with bookshelves. In the middle was a sort of pit with fitted couches in it. Loki threw himself onto one. Lying on his back, he looked over to her. 

She stood with her back to him, looking out the window. It was the first time she had actually had the chance to look over Asgard. They had a thing for Gold. Every building was beautifully shaped and a clandestine gold. It was beautiful and otherworldly entirely. 

“Are we going to get anything done today?” Loki commented 

“Sorry” she sighed, moving to sit opposite to him. 

 

They spent hours in there. She lost track of time. Most of it was watching Loki perform various displays of ability. He disappeared completely, shapeshifted, teleported, changed his clothing, created magical flowers and vines, enchanted a bird, made her pass out and woke her up again and turned a guard’s sword to snakes. However, he failed at activating the Soul Gem. 

They had spent at least 5 hours in the room and he had been unable to activate any magical abilities. It annoyed Loki. He thought it would be easy. It was an Infinity Stone, the power should be easily drawn out due to it’s sheer capacity but he could not even get a wisp of it. 

“I think that’s enough” he said quietly

Alina was lying on her back, exasperated. She realised the sooner she could control this or even possess it, the sooner she could leave. Today, although fascinating scientifically and curiosity wise, had earned her nothing. 

“Ok”

She was exhausted. She had had much longer days, and many sleepless nights but for some reason the tension of the morning and then the hours of sitting and observing had left her completely done with the day. A little bit of her suspected Loki’s previous enchantment when he knocked her out was yet to wear off. 

Loki watched the girl as she lay on her back with her eyes closed. Her eyebrows were slightly furrowed in concern and her breath was quiet. She was thinking on something and he was curious as to know what. He did not ask. He doubted she would tell him considering her evident distrust of everyone here and her rather even and hidden personality. 

“You should eat” he remarked 

“Not in the mood thanks” she replied, eyes still closed.

“As you wish” Loki stood up

As he left the room, he looked back at the girl who held the universe’s power within her and found it unbelievable that a mortal could even be chosen to possess such intricate and powerful magic.


	6. Headway

The next week passed in a blur of similar events to that first full day on Asgard. She would get up, train, practice with Loki, eat and then disappear off for the evening. 

Loki, Sif, Thor and The Warriors Three had not seen her other than their ‘designated’ times with her all week. She had declined every offer made to her to attend celebrations or drinks at various taverns, not just by them but by other warriors who after watching her train had come to respect the Midgardian Girl. She retired almost immediately after she was done with Loki and she ate by herself. 

It was a rare day off for them and so they were eating breakfast in the great hall together. Thor had sent a guard the night before to inform Lady Alina of the free day and he had hoped to see her wandering as they were eating late in the morning. He was yet to see her. The group was immensely interested in her since her display of lethality against Eli however she was yet to show such control or power again. She still fought with talent and skill but she always appeared to be holding something back. Refusing to make connections with them or any of the warriors, she seemed distracted and concerned. 

Similarly, Loki had been unable to make any headway with her in terms of the Soul Gem.

“Nothing yesterday I assume?” Thor asked, he didn’t need to state the topic

Loki shook his head. 

It was easy to everyone to see that his project had begun to both annoy and concern him. Even they thought the process would be quick and simple however it had drawn out to nearly 7 days without so much as a glimmer of the power the girl possessed. Loki had tried everything from trying to teach her magic off the bat, to exposing her to powerful magic, to allowing her to observe and be affected by his own talents however nothing had drawn out the power within her. 

“Something’s missing” Volstagg commented through a mouthful of grapes

“Hmm?” Loki hummed 

Volstagg swallowed but Hogun spoke first.

“She is missing something. Or something is blocking the gem from activating” 

“I have already checked her mind and spirit and there are no blockades in the way” Loki remarked

“What is preventing it then…” Sif wondered 

It was at that moment that the doors to their left were flung open and Alina strode through. She walked right up to Loki and grabbed him by the arm, dragging him out of his seat and to his feet.

“May I help you?” he queried, annoyed at her abruptness 

“I need you to attack me”

“Excuse me?”

“With your magic, with weapons, with whatever. I need you to attack me with genuine intentions of harming me”

“That is not going to happen darling”

He was rather confused now, as was everyone else.

“Lady Alina are you unwell?” Thor asked, concerned 

“I’m fine Thor.”

“Then pray tell me why you want me to attempt to harm you?” Loki asked 

“Infinity Stones. They are remnants of of one of the universe's oldest being and their source of power were originally for protection and power.”

“So?” Fandral asked 

“So… So you need to try and harm me. Something needs to make my body react in such a way that the soul gem would need to protect. Like you said with uh.. Jane?” 

“Yes.. Jane.” Thor answered 

“Yes well the power gem, the ether, it only reacted when it felt it’s vessel was in harm. Rather, it overreacted as such. On Earth.. Midgard.. I have been in harms way, at near death, many times but the gem never reacted. I was confused at first but then I realised that it needed to be exposed to magic of some sort of power before it would begin to activate. Dueling with the warriors, I felt no fear for my life because it was safe, the sparring rods are not lethal. I have yet to be put in a situation where it could be lethal after being exposed to magical elements”

“That… has merit” Thor spoke

“How do you know all this?” Hogun asked 

“Library” she replied simply

Behind her back, Loki shot the others a look which told them to go along with whatever he was about to do. Her idea was indeed something he should have thought of earlier.

In a shimmer, he changed his armor to something more elaborate and threatening. Alina glanced at him and then did a double take when she saw his changed attire. 

“Good… It gives me an apt excuse when I explain to father how you accidentally died” he murmured 

“What?” She said sharply

He took her by the neck, pinning her against the wall, her feet dangling off the ground.

“Brother..!” Thor warned

“What Thor? You’re an oaf. Think of the power that would be released if I killed her. I have grown tired of playing Father’s games and this… this is the perfect excuse” he hissed 

“Loki stand down” Fandral cried

Loki grinned. Smoothly he flicked a wrist, throwing up an barely visible barrier between Alina and himself and Thor and the warriors. 

Thor roared and smashed his hammer against it, to no avail. In truth, Thor was barely trying and the barrier was not a barrier at all but a simple wall of light Loki had created to trick the girl.   
By now, she was struggling in his iron hard grip but he threw a light enchantment over her to keep her a little sedated so she would not harm him. She felt this and struggled harder. 

In her head she was screaming, her words had been rushed and she had just given a powerful and sociopathic man a justified reason to ‘accidentally’ kill her. Her previous train of thought lost, she struggled and kicked against him but he watched her with mild amusement. 

Suddenly, he tossed her to the side, sending her rolling across the marble floor. She felt dizzy from the sedative enchantment he had put on her and managed to stand on her feet barely. 

A fight commenced. 

Loki was surprised at the girls skill while so sedated. At one point she sent a punch into his jaw so hard that it flicked his head to one side, giving him whiplash. This made him angry and by her reaction, he could tell she could see it in his eyes. In the background, Thor was still attempting to ‘break’ his barrier. Loki grinned and formed a long, curved knife in one hand. 

Anger still running through his veins, he kicked her directly in the chest sending her backwards onto a set of marble steps and stalked towards her. She was leant on her side, dazed from his enchantment and winded from his kick. He increased his pace, spinning the knife in one hand.   
As he raised his knife coldly, he was blown backwards off his feet with such force that he let go of his weapon. He was thrown so far that he landed a top of Thor, who along with the others, had also been knocked to the ground.

Scrambling to their feet, weapons drawn they looked about for the source of the blast. Instantly, Loki looked to Alina to check for injury but his gaze stopped dead when he reached her. The others followed his line of direction. 

She sat on the steps, slightly propped in a position which indicated she was still winded but she held them mesmerized. She was surrounded by a bright golden mist which seemed to dance in the air and settle, shimmering and then disappearing. As the golden mist disappeared, their attention was brought directly to her eyes;

They glowed the same golden colour as the mist but the green behind them still showed through intently. 

“Is that.. “ Fandral trailed off, his eyes not leaving the girl

Thor moved forward to approach her. He did so too briskly and she immediately threw up a golden wall, similar to Loki’s barrier however when Thor pushed against this one, it crackled and did not give in the slightest. 

“It seems she was correct in her theory” Hogun remarked quietly

 

“She is frightened. Her mind will not be working as quickly as it normally does since I enchanted her. She is dangerous” Loki said

“What do we do?” Sif responded harshly

“Allow me…” Loki replied 

Slowly he approached her barrier and placed his hands against it. Straight away he could feel the pure power coursing through it. It throbbed with energy and force. Alina stared directly at him, her head cocked to one side. 

“No harm will come to you. Everything that just happened was fake and at your suggestion..” 

No answer. 

“Alina…? It wasn't real” He tried again 

It was silent, she stared at him. In her head she was hearing what he was saying but it took every fibre of strength she had to drop the shield she had created. 

“I know’ she whispered, dissipating the shield into golden dust. 

Slowly, she laid down against the cold marble steps, placing her face against them and closing her eyes. After a long moment she felt a hand on her shoulder. Opening her eyes she stared up at Loki. 

He grinned.

“Nice guess with the theory” 

“Thanks..” she murmured, pulling herself into a sitting position and then to her feet, standing away from Loki.

“I guess you really can’t claim it as your doing now Loki!” Fandral smirked 

Loki glared daggers. 

 

“We must tell mother and father immediately so we can begin her training!” Thor announced happily

“You know what.. I am good for now” Alina mumbled as she stumbled slightly on her feet

“You are exhausted from the sudden and intense magic use” Loki said simply

“And.. your stupid enchantment” she growled 

“That too” he remarked 

“Perhaps we should let her rest and pick this up with the All-father tomorrow morning” Volstagg laughed 

After being escorted back to her room by her companions, she promptly collapsed into bed and fell asleep, fully clothed and exhausted, unable to even give a thought to the immense power she had surging through her. 

 

Outside, Fandral began to speak as they departed Alina’s door. 

“I am not an expert at magic but I do believe that was powerful” 

“It was. Similar to Jane when she possessed the Dark Ether but this was far more controlled” Thor agreed 

As they discussed it, Loki stayed silent replaying the events of the past hour. Thor noticed and almost immediately disrupted him.

“Brother, you are the only person here talented in such a thing. Why remain so silent?” 

Loki considered this for a second.

“Because she’s powerful-and dangerous” he said simply.


	7. Friends and Dragons

She slept from 2 o’clock that day right the way through to 7 the next morning. Her sleep was restless, reoccurring dreams and thoughts and at one point she could have sworn she woke up to her hands glowing gold but that may have been another dream. 

Everything happened in a blur. She felt heavy as she stumbled out of bed and got dressed, barely eating before she left the room. She didn’t know particularly where she was going she just felt the need to walk. She ventured through the Palace and out the gate, past the training pits which were vacant due to it being early. She just kept walking. 

She didn’t concentrate on her path and ended up in a field. She lay down on her back in the long grass. She needed to think, to breathe, to control. She could do this on her own without Loki’s help and after yesterday she held a slight increased distrust for his intentions. 

 

An hour later, she heard footsteps pushing through the grass. She opened one eye to see a man staring down at her. He was at least 6ft with sandy brown hair that flopped to one side and large brown eyes. He was dressed in a leather like shirt and long loose pants. 

“Hello” she said, one eye on him

“Hi! Why are you lying in a field?” He asked merrily 

“The palace gets a bit much of a muchness after a while” 

“Or you are avoiding the allfather and the princes” He smiled 

She sat up.

“I know who you are” he continued “you’re the Infinity stone girl”

“Alina” 

“Nice to meet you, I’m Sven. No special powers sorry. I’m a server at the Alshaw Tavern which the royal soldiers and ladies often frequent at”

“That in itself is a superpower my friend” she replied dryly

“Mind if I sit?”   
Alina liked him. He was genuine and honest and kind and had so far not bragged one single bit about himself, which was a nice change.

She nodded. 

“It’s beautiful right?” he said, nodding towards a bustling morning in Asgard. 

Sitting on their little hill, so close to the city, yet it felt like a completely different world. It was much quieter and the wind ruffled their hair gently. Below, in Asgard you could see people going about their morning business anywhere in between a lethargic mess and a bustled hurry. 

“I’ve never seen anything like it” she admitted 

“What’s Midgard like?” Sven asked eagerly

“Very different. Most people don’t believe in magic or powers like you guys do, they would never ever believe you guys or anything like this exist. For the most part we are oblivious to all this.”

“Do you miss it?” 

“It’s only been just over a week” she smiled 

“But friends, family…?” 

“There isn’t any family to miss and for the most part, we are so busy with our Jobs it’s not unusual to not see friends for weeks on end”

“What do you do?”

“I’m a scientist. I work with the dead.. It’s called forensic science which basically means I get given dead bodies and I figure out who killed them or how they died. At least, that’s how it started. Then I got into bigger things with bigger agencies and now I guess I am in between a agent and a scientist” 

“Dangerous?” he grinned 

“Very” she laughed back

“What’s Prince Loki like?” Sven asked suddenly, after a moments silence

“Huh?”

“I mean… how does he act?”

“He’s intense in every spectrum of emotion and action but I am curious about him. He reacts to things in a strange manner and, he is a very talented sorcerer” 

“Is he cruel?”

Alina considered this. After yesterday she wasn’t sure but she had asked for him to do such a thing, it was simply surprising he had reacted so eloquently and with such intenseness. 

“No. He can be tricky and even mean but I do not think he is cruel” 

Sven seemed to think about this with some level of curiosity. 

“What?” Alina asked 

“Hmm…”

“You are thinking about this. Why Loki?”

“You have not been told of his past?”

“His.. past?” She asked curiously

“He is the illegitimate Prince. Taken from another realm, Jotunheim, when he was a baby by King Odin as a bargain between our two realms. However, he never told Loki this, he lied to him telling him that he was his son by blood. When he found out, he was so angry he went and tried to destroy Thor and take the Throne. It didn’t work and when the rainbow bridge- the bifrost- was destroyed, he was sucked into the void. But he turned up a year or so later on Midgard and tried to conquer your New York City and the rest of Midgard. Thor and his midgardian allies stopped him and he was brought back here where he was imprisoned… That is until Thor committed treason to save his mortal girl from the dark Ether. In the process he broke Loki out of Asgardian prison because he needed his aid. The two of them stopped a Dark Elf’s plan to turn the universe to darkness and Loki almost sacrificed himself to do so. Odin pardoned him for his crimes due to this”

Alina listened to his tale carefully, particularly about New York. She had been there that day, working on the NYPD force investigating a linked murder to a high profile drug ring. So many people had died at the hands of those aliens, she was unaware that Loki had been at the pinnacle of the whole thing. She wasn’t sure how to feel about it. It was what had landed her in SHIELD and she had spent days and nights with the corpses of the aftermath. 

“How do you know all this?” she asked 

“Perks of working in a tavern where the royals, the royal army and their ladies frequent at. Once they are drunk they will speak of almost anything” Sven smiled 

“I see…”  
“Did that change your opinion of him?” he asked curiously

She thought on this for a moment.

“No” she replied slowly “I suspect there was something else influencing his decision on his attack of New York and Eart- Midgard. People with such intentions don’t suddenly lose those intentions after being captured or reprimanded, they are wired that way. They will always want that, destruction, death, pain. Loki does not want that. He may enjoy trickery, he may even be mean at times but he is inherently good I think”

“You are an interesting Lady” 

“How so?”

“To forgive so quickly and to think so clearly about such a situation is unusual” he replied simply

She laughed. 

“I have trust in him, as little as I know about him”

“More than some” he flopped back into the grass 

They talked for hours. Sven liked the girl. Her humor was dry but not mean and she held a very calm presence, like she could deal with anything that came at her. He asked her all about Midgard and the odd foods and contraptions they had there and how Midgardians acted. Eventually, they dozed off in the afternoon sun. 

He was awoken to Alina shaking him lightly. The sun was high and he figured it was about 3 or 4 o’clock. 

“Mmmm” he moaned 

“What’s that sound?” she asked in a lowered voice

He listened. From the woods behind them there was a thumping and a snapping of trees and branches. It sounded like a very heavy animal, it was knocking over trees too by the noise. He pushed Alina down by her shoulders and crouched low in the grass.

Out of the woods, as trees fell, appeared a dragon. It was a bright white with bright blue eyes and blue accents down it’s spine and tail. Sven gasped. He’d never seen a dragon before, they were rare on Asgard and mainly kept to themselves in far off corners of the realm. This one seem enraged, it was smashing the trees out of the way with its tail and feet and had even set a few on fire. 

He glanced to Alina whose eyes were wide. However, she did not seem surprised by the entire thing. She caught his glance and shrugged. 

“I thought dragons and magical creatures would come sooner in all this shit” she whispered

The dragon raged past, not noticing them pressed to the ground, hidden by the long grass. Siren like noises sounded, shouting was heard from the city. The dragon breathed a bout of fire at the field in front of it, burning it to dirt and dust. Alina felt a strange energy, she could feel the confusion and anger of the animal strongly. 

Lightly, she sprang to her feet and let out a loud dog whistle. The dragon whipped its head around. Sven grabbed her by the arm. 

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING” he whisper shouted, not wanting to enrage the dragon any more. 

“It’s heading towards the city, it will burn the first quarter before anyone can do anything about it. I think it’s enchanted or possessed or whatever the hell you guys do here” 

The dragon roared and shrugged it's neck. Suddenly, it sprang into a gallop straight at them. Turning on her heel, she took Sven’s wrist and began to sprint parallel to the city, towards a set off cliffs which lead onto an open plain and a river. Quickly, the dragon began to lose interest in chasing them and turned its attention back towards the city.

“Shit” 

“Let the Royal Army deal with it” Sven urged 

“They’ll kill it. It’s not in its natural state…” she trailed off

“What?” Sven asked suspiciously 

“The soul gem.. It supposedly can revert spirits back to their natural or original state”

“Would it work with a dragon?” urgency persisting in his voice

“Who knows but it’s worth a shot”

“Is it?” 

“Yes, Sven” 

He sighed. 

“How are we going to protect the city and give you the chance to try this out? It seems to get bored of us pretty quick” 

She smiled a little.   
“I think I can do this”

She took a moment. Her eyes closed, she searched for the energy she felt yesterday when she had hit the cold steps in the Great Hall. With great force, she felt adrenaline coursing through her. Her eyes were a bright gold-green again and her hands were encircled in little circles of gold-green shimmering mist. 

“Cool” Sven said with wonder. 

After a large amount of effort, she threw up a force field of gold and green between the dragon and the city, blocking it’s progress. It pawed against the barrier, breathing fire on it and thumping it with its tail. Alina felt a minuscule amount of irritation at this and immediately turned to Sven. 

“Oh no no no” he said apprehensively 

“I just need you to distract, I can protect you” she said, her hands still slightly outstretched toward the barrier. 

Sven rolled his eyes. 

“You owe me”

“Actually you owe me. I may be saving your tavern and your life right now”

He scoffed and sprinted across the field before letting out a loud whistle. The dragon wheeled around, eager to attack something it charged at him using it’s wings for leverage to take it slightly off the ground. As it swooped down on Sven, Alina threw up another forcefield, sending the dragon tumbling back to the grass with a loud crash. 

Slowly she approached from behind while he dragon righted itself, still focused on Sven. 

Sven watched Alina move skillfully and silently across the field behind the dragon. Behind her he saw the audience they had gathered; many members of the royal army, prepared to take the animal down, now had their faces pressed as close as they could against Alina’s energy field. The princes and the warriors three also stood watching. Some watched with fear, others with awe, others with confusion. 

The dragon took a swipe at him and he ducked. As it breathed fire, Alina blocked this from reaching him. With the presence and skill of a Wolf, she crouched low behind the dragon and leaped onto it’s back, landing almost right in the middle. 

The dragon shook and breathed fire across the field in anger. With every reprieve, she climbed higher up it’s back until she was almost sitting on it’s back. Her eyes still glowing and her energy shield still holding, she placed her hands as far up onto it’s head as she could reach and focused on the strange energy she felt earlier when it had exited the woods. In her mind, it felt like a series of locks unlocking as she forced energy onto the creature. It thrashed in protest but she held steady. Slowly, it began to calm down. The thrashing became less and less and it instead began to shake a little. Eventually, it stopped and the dragon settled. 

Cautiously, she slid to the ground. Uneasy on her feet, Sven put an arm around her shoulders.   
They watched as the dragon, which was now laid in the grass, opened one eye and then the other. It regarded them calmly before rising to its feet. Sven went to back away, Alina stopped him gently, de-tangling herself from his arm.   
The dragon approached slowly, lowering it’s head to their head height. It stared Alina right in the eye and she looked back, expressionless. 

Cautiously, she reached her hand up to touch its face not breaking eye contact. It leaned into her hand and she brushed her thumb against it’s silver-white scales. With her other hand she dissipated the energy field between the field and Asgard city. The soldiers and other gathered people didn’t move. 

“Tonight…” she murmured quietly to the dragon

It considered her for a moment before leaping into the air and flying away over the receding forest. Both she and Sven watched it disappear. 

Cheering erupted from the soldiers. Steadily, Alina and Sven made their way back towards the city. As they came into range of the soldiers, they began clapping Sven on the back and kissing her hand in earnest. She pushed her way through them, leaving Sven to be adored and worshiped by all the men and women surrounding the area.

Finally reaching a clear space, she strode away from the large group but got not more than 20 meters when Thor and Loki stopped her, followed swiftly by Sif and The Warriors Three. 

“Make a friend?” Fandral joked 

“Are you talking about the dragon or the bartender?” she replied dryly 

“Lady Alina! That was exquisite! You helped in protecting and securing our city.” Thor exclaimed pleasantly 

Alina forced a smile. She did not particularly love the Asgardian tradition of over exaggerating everything. She met eyes with Loki.

“It seems you have found your feet rather quickly with the Soul Gem” he remarked snarkily 

Secretly, he was impressed with the girls control. She had held herself with poise and grace and the sheer power of her actions were unprecedented. 

“Something like that…” she replied quietly   
Before anyone else could get a word in edgeways, Sven finally broke free of the crowd and approached the group. 

“Princes” he half bowed to them

They nodded in return. 

“Ok so when can we do that again?” he grinned at Alina

“Not 25 minutes ago you were complaining of my thoughts on the dragon” she remarked with a smile. 

‘True but I feel pretty safe. That things fire couldn’t even mark your shields!” he laughed 

Alina smiled back at him. His genuine love for things was contagious. 

“The man is right!” Fandral exclaimed “This means for celebrations!” 

“I’m not-” Alina began

“Oh yes you are.” Sven interrupted, taking her by the wrist 

“Tonight at Alshaw” Volstagg chuckled, he was always up for food and a good drink 

“Do I have a choice?” Alina sighed, with a small smile 

“None whatsoever” Sven grinned back

“I shall see you tonight then” 

“Definitely. My Princes” he remarked, bowing again before taking his leave.

Alina watched him walk away. 

“He seems nice” Sif remarked 

“He hasn’t told me how ‘absolutely incredible’ he is yet, so he can live” Alina remarked, wickedly 

Sif laughed. She, like Volstagg, was looking forward to a celebration and a feast and she was curious as to see Alina in a situation which was not training. 

“Tonight…” Alina murmured, before nodding her head and walking back towards the palace.


	8. A night out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the dragon bit I was listening to Lover of the Light by Mumford and Sons. Highly recommend it

To her surprise, Sif knocked on her door at 6 o’clock. She was dressed in a long silver dress that looked like a mixture of chainmail and lizard scales. It suited her. The meeting with Odin had been postponed until the next morning due to celebrations taking place.

Alina was sitting on a lavish stool looking out across the balcony when the knock came and she allowed Sif to enter. Sif on the other hand, was surprised the girl was not dressed yet. 

“You are planning on coming tonight…?” she queried 

“I am”

“You need to be dressed for the occasion” 

“And what do you mean by that?” 

“Asgardian dress” she rolled out

Alina rolled her eyes. What the Asgardians wore for ‘celebrations’ and even for everyday use was impractical and exaggeratory, like everything they seemed to do. 

Sif started trawling through the elaborate wardrobe. With ease, she picked out a suitable dress and flung it at Alina. Alina replied with a skeptical look. 

“Put it on” sif demanded 

“Yes ma’am” Alina replied with a grin, fake saluting the warrior before disappearing into the bathroom. 

When she came out, Sif was impressed at her own choice for Alina. The dress was a soft beige and came up over her shoulders. Down her back fell two lengths of shimmery fabric which hit the floor gently. From the waist there was a band of delicate gold which gave shape to the dress The gold was then embroidered into the fabric, reaching up the sides and shoulders and disappearing into the fabric which cascaded over her shoulders. The accented gold reflected in Alina’s green eyes and gave a shining effect to them. 

Sif admired her handy work. Alina too, was impressed at her choice. It fit in all the right places, which she had expected nothing less of considering Asgards sudden knowledge of her exact size but more to her surprise was that she genuinely didn’t mind the dress. It was elaborate but not so much as she had come to despise. Rather, it held a soft elegance about it which the gold only seemed to enhance, rather than take away from. 

“There. You wouldn’t know you were anything but an Asgardian Princess” Sif said 

Alina smiled. She was warming to the warrior who despite her hard exterior, was a genuine person and an incredibly talented fighter. Also, she took absolutely no shit and Alina secretly loved it. 

Leaving her hair down in it’s natural large waves, Alina followed Sif out of the room. Conversation immediately was sparked by Sif and Alina realised she had never had a one on one conversation with the women that was outside the fighting pits. Although, she had been avoiding it with just about anyone. 

“Do you enjoy Asgard?” she asked 

“It’s different” Alina replied carefully 

Sif took notice of her hesitant reply. 

“You don’t like it?” 

“Like I said, it’s different. I neither like or dislike Asgard, I am just here for Odin’s master plan and then I’m gone”  
“You’re so closed off you know” 

“So are you” Alina pointed back

“I know but it’s different”

“Look at it this way, I am in a completely foreign place with little knowledge of the customs, people or government. After New York and other.. sightings.. I do not wish to mess with a ‘realm’ which has the potential to not just get rid of me but to destroy my home completely” 

Sif listened. She hadn’t really considered much of that. Alina had adapted so easily she felt the part. The again, she moved like a shadow around the castle and watched and learned with a concentrated grace. 

“I suppose. Midgard is very different”

“You’ve been?”

“A few times. Once to stop Loki’s destruction of a Midgardian town and another to stop a woman called Lorelei wreaking havoc on your SHIELD”

“I see. Loki is quite the troublemaker… I am yet to see that side of him it seems” 

“He has gotten better I must admit. After his time in the dungeons and committing treason with Thor but do not be fooled”

“I rarely am. He certainly holds an air about him” 

 

Sif gave her a questioning look. 

“He is intelligent and witty but there is something clever and wicked about him. I am not sure if he would ever go so far as New York again because something in me suspects that was a product of something else but he is… calculating” she shrugged 

“You could say that”

“And you and Thor?” she asked 

Sif looked surprised. 

“What?”

“You hold affections for him” 

“Is it so obvious?” Sif asked 

“Yes and No. I am more observant than your average person”

“I have always held affections for Thor however his heart is with his mortal woman on Midgard” she said simply 

Alina decided to move over the conversation as Sif’s voice became more hostile. 

“Do you do all this often? The celebrations?” 

“Indeed. Whenever we have the opportunity” Sif grinned 

“You don’t get sick of it?”

“Nay. It is tradition and our bodies are not as frail as Midgardians”

“Cheers” Alina laughed 

“You are a strong Midgardian!” Sif attempted to redeem herself 

Alina started laughing more and Sif joined in.

“I fear my mind and body does not live up to that of gods” Alina smiled 

“No but I am serious, you hold great power”

“Ah but that is not me but the Infinity Stone. No?”

“Perhaps. But I feel you are holding your passion and talent back when you fight and when you are around us”

“Like I said, it is dangerous to let my guard down in such a place”

“Maybe you should” Sif suggested 

Alina smiled but her thoughts were disrupted by the sound of music and laughter as they rounded a corner. 

“Here we go” Sif grinned, taking her by the wrist and dragging her inside the warmly lit building. 

It was a totally surreal experience for Alina in that Tavern. She opted not to drink purely due to the antics it seemed to be inducing in others. For the first 25 minutes, she spoke to Sven who was pleased to see her there and pleased she was talking to him instead of the men who she had not seen eyeing her. After nearly a half hour however, Fandral pulled her down to his table where he sat with Eli, Thor, Loki, Sif, The warriors Three and some men and women who were unknown to her. 

“You look absolutely astounding darling” Eli grinned, obviously quite tipsy already

Alina smiled wearily back at him. 

“Well, he’s not wrong” Fandral said quietly in her ear

“However he is drunk” she replied 

“But I’m not”

“You are a little” she smiled at Fandral

He spent a good 10 minutes talking about her facial features to her and when Eli distracted him she was increasingly grateful, some of the woman had looked to have been plotting her subsequent death for distracting Fandral from them. 

The conversation digressed to her listening to multiple stories of different battles and antics from the warriors and the women fawning over them. Alina watched skeptically but was careful to listen to anything they were saying. Like Sven had mentioned, they talked a lot more once they had some alcohol. 

Across the table, she failed to notice Loki with his eyes trained on her. He watched as she listened intently. Despite being a mortal, the girl was not stupid. However he found it hard to be cynical toward her when she looked the way she did this evening. She looked the part of an Asgardian Queen or Warrior and the gold armoring and embroidery on her dress lit up her eyes wonderfully. The fit of it too, suited her. He swallowed and turned his focus elsewhere, careful not to be sucked into any charm. 

It was after an hour or so of conversation between his brother and the rest of the table in which they had begun to debate the purpose of magical creatures in battle that he looked across to see Alina was no longer there. In a slight panic he nudged his brother, attempting to remain nonchalant and nodded to where Alina once sat. Thor immediately conveyed this to the rest of their party and they politely excused themselves for the evening, leaving Eli and his company to drink. 

As they exited the Tavern, Thor grabbed the sandy haired server and pulled him out with them. Once a little way down the street, away from the Tavern, they stopped. 

“Where is she?” Thor thundered 

“Alina, the girl, we saw you talking earlier, where is she?” Sif prompted 

Sven sighed. Alina had warned him of this.

“Just follow me… but don’t be surprised at this” he muttered

Thor and the others exchanged glances before following the man down the street and out of the city, towards the field which they had been in earlier that day. The walk was silent and Sven seemed to trudge along rather reluctantly in front of them. Secretly, they were all curious to know what the hell Alina was up to and Sven certainly wasn’t helping. 

As they rounded the last buildings on the edges of the city they finally understood what was going on. The grass in the field had already regrown to its full length which was no surprise to them however what was the surprise was Alina, standing in the middle of the field in front of the same white-blue dragon from earlier in the day. They reached reached for their weapons however Thor motioned with his free hand. 

“Wait” he said

There was a light wind and Alina’s hair moved with it. Slowly, she reached out and stroked the dragon’s face. It’s eyes were focused on over her shoulder and she assumed that Sven had finally been asked where she was. It was too obvious. 

“Look back at me” she commanded quietly 

The dragon did so. It looked at her with a calm look. She was convinced now, that it could hear her as she thought. 

‘Do you carry passengers?’ she questioned in her mind 

The dragon stretched it’s head back, looking at it’s wings before back at her. She took it as a yes. Gently, she waded through the grass barefoot and placed her hands on it’s scaly neck, hoisting herself up and grasping onto a few of the large spikes on it’s mid-neck. 

“No no no no” Sven said

“Thor?” Loki queried with raised eyebrows

“Wait” Thor repeated again, eyes trained on the dragon

“Are you really sure now is the time for waiting?” Fandral asked incredulously 

Thor said nothing as Alina crouched low on the beast's back. She gave a small nod and with sudden energy, the beast leapt into the air. 

She held on tightly but once it had leveled out, she loosed her grip. Wind whipped her hair back behind her head and the fabric of her dress fluttered. The dragon cut through the air smoothly and she grinned, beginning to laugh from the pure adrenaline.  
With a single thought, she urged the dragon to plunge down the face of a cliff and towards the ocean which reached out towards the bifrost. 

“No!” Sif yelled as the dragon plunged over the edge. 

Likewise, they ran towards the edge of the cliff, coming to a stumbled stop and peering over. To their relief, the dragon was merely gliding across the water with ease and Alina, still on it’s back.

She reached down, allowing her hands to skim across the water. The air was colder now out on the water and subsequently, the dragon cut up, circling around the bifrost and heading parallel to the rainbow bridge. Heimdall stood at the entrance, watching the girl with a small smile. Slowly, Alina rose into a crouch and then stood straight on the dragon's back, one foot in front of the other to keep a balance. It whipped down across the bifrost and back towards the field. Streamlining itself, it shot across the field, just above the tall grass and towards Sven. 

Crouching low, she extended an arm and as they passed directly over the group she yanked the bartender by the arm, flipping him onto the dragon. He screamed and Alina laughed, holding tight to the scales as the dragon did a full 360. 

“WHAT IN ODIN’S NAME” he yelled 

“Hold on” she grinned , looking over her shoulder at him. 

They flew over the forest, barely above the trees. Below them, strange animals that she had never seen before scattered in an attempt to hide from the creature. In the water of a river, they could have sworn that there was a shadow of a large eel-like creature below the surface. Odd plants grew from the side of cliff faces and on top of other plants which were equally as unknown to her. Sven began to enjoy the feeling of the wind whipping his hair and the feeling of moving smoothly through the night sky without anyone to stop them.  
Below, they watched as the fabric of Alina’s dress fluttered behind her and as both her and Sven laughed. There was a freedom to the entire movement. As anything however, it came to an end. 

With a thump, the dragon landed in the grass and took a few steps forward, steadying itself. Sven just about fell off its back, landing unsteadily on his feet and stumbling a little before righting himself. Alina slid off it’s back with a little more care and stroked the creature's face before it let out a small roar and launched itself back into the sky. 

“You know if you are going to keep doing this it needs a name” Sven pointed out

“I’ll think of one later”

“Also what in the hel was that!?” he exploded 

“You did ask when we could do it again” She laughed 

“Give me some warning next time” he grumbled back as they made their way through the long grass. 

As they approached Thor, Alina considered his reaction. It was certainly not disapproving. Rather, he had a large grin on his face and was swinging Mjolnir round his hand excitedly. 

“My lady! It seems you have earned a dragon's trust! How utterly unusual.” he smiled 

“Apparently so” 

“Las, it seems you have quite the talent” Volstagg laughed 

“Or I wasn’t trying to kill it” Alina pointed out

Hogun just nodded in his usual quiet fashion. 

“You disappeared off to ride a dragon…” Sif said steadily before a wide smile broke out on her face. 

“Will it come back?” Hogun questioned 

“Im not sure. It can feel energy and thought processes, I think. It may if I ask it too but then again it is wild” she shrugged 

“Still, you basically have a dragon!” Sif said

“I wanna learn how to fly” Sven mumbled 

“Something tells me that isn’t going to happen” Alina replied, amused.  
As they made their way back up to the castle, dropping Sven back off at the Tavern along the way, Loki was quiet. He barely spoke a word and while Alina shrugged it off as him being his moody self, Thor suspected his brother was in deep thought over the day's events. Once everyone else had retired for the night, he broached the subject. 

“Brother, why do you remain so silent?” 

Loki looked at him questioningly. 

“Lady Alina achieved quite the feat today, did she not? I cannot myself, remember the last time of which even a warrior tamed a beast such as that!” 

“Indeed…” Loki replied 

“Brother what troubles you so?”

“Her talent, even untrained as it is is unparalleled. She will make an incredibly powerful sorceress with the backing of the infinity stones. However that dragon today was possessed. It had been enchanted”

“And she controlled the soul gem to reverse it! What is so terrible about that? Is it not what we want? For her to be in control? She would make a powerful asset and you know of the old tales”

“Of course I know of the Old tales” Loki snapped “And her controlling the gem is not what concerns me.” 

“Then what concerns you?” 

“Who enchanted the dragon in the first place?”


	9. Magic Tricks

The very next day, Odin demanded a meeting with Thor, Loki and Alina. The warriors were barred from it, much to their disappointment and protest.

Inside, Odin was pacing slowly with his hands clasped behind his back. Frigga stood slightly to his side, with a small smile on her face. As the doors closed behind them, Odin’s head snapped up. 

“It has been 2 days since the soul gem has been active and absolutely no training has been done. Instead I find you all out drinking and playing with Dragons” 

“Father-” 

“No Thor” Odin interrupted “You are under no illusions as to how important this is”

“Why? Because I am at liberty to destroy things if I am not in complete control?” Alina asked harshly 

Odin considered her with his one eye. He seemed to be thinking something over before speaking again. 

“Yes. You will be an excellent asset to us if you are able to control this” 

At his comment, Frigga audibly sighed. Her husband was still lying to the girl about what was to happen. 

“To be fair, she has shown exquisite control already” Loki added 

“But it is not enough. She may have a level of control but she needs to be adept in all the magic you are. That is why you were tasked with teaching the girl in the first place”

“And up until now, the soul gem had not presented itself so I was unable to do anything of gravity” Loki argued back, sneering at Odin. 

At this Odin looked back to Alina as if Loki’s words had triggered something. 

“Are you in control girl?” He asked 

“It’s not girl, it’s Alina. And I am in enough control to activate it at will, with some effort” She replied calmly, refusing to break eye contact with him. 

“Show me” he demanded 

“Father…” Thor began but Odin waved a hand at him. 

Frigga moved next to Loki, both of them prepared in case something went wrong. Alina looked Odin in the eye and tilted her head a little before taking a deep breath and closing her eyes. Not 5 seconds later, she opened them again. Her eyes were now a bright and eerie golden green, fizzling with energy. Her hands emitted the same soft glow around them.

Then, with only a flick of a wrist she sent Odin flying backwards. With a similar flick, she created a forcefield of energy to prevent him hitting anything. He stumbled. No one moved. A heavy silence hung in the air. 

“Would.. you like me.. to show you again?” she hissed, the corner of her mouth twitching upwards. 

Odin stared back at her. He did not reply. Alina let out a small chuckle. 

“And you talk of Midgardians being gullible” she muttered, her voice losing it’s sinister touch. 

She dissipated the gold-green force field and shook her head, letting out a small groan of pain. Loki’s head snapped up at this and he watched her intently. The magic seemed to be draining her energy fast. 

“Loki…?” Frigga asked gently 

He didn’t take his eyes off the girl. It became obvious that she was having trouble controlling the power. Although she activated it with ease, the problem was now with turning it off, failing to do so would exhaust her completely or make her incredibly dangerous.  
Prepared to take action, he took a cautious step forward but as he did so, her eyes returned to their normal deep green. She swayed a little on her feet. 

“You need more practice” he said 

“Mmn?”

“You are weak. The more you practice the less tired you will be when you use your magic”

“Well Loki, do as I asked and teach” Odin interjected 

“You know it’s not that I don’t enjoy teaching the universe's most powerful person how to be more powerful, I do. I just dislike having to do it through the likes of you” Loki replied sarcastically before taking Alina’s arm and pulling her with him. 

“Loki.. what-” she said, looking up to him as they walked away

“We are going to do some training and there will be punishment this time if you hold back” he said, walking with confident strides looking straight ahead.

She continued to look up at him, confused at his sudden desire to teach her. In return, he looked down and grinned. Today he was going to push her. 

As they exited out of one door, the warriors entered through another. 

“Father… you should not aggravate Loki so. He holds the universe in his hands right now” Thor said gently

“And he will look after it. Brash as Loki may be, he understands more than any of us the gravity of the girl”

“Forgive me allfather, but surely you could get another sorcerer to teach her?” Hogun asked 

“She trusts him” Frigga smiled. The girl was unbiased in her opinions and although she did not overlook Loki’s wrong doings, she seemed to have a even grasp of the situations which were cause to it. She was calm and calculated and while she was not stupid enough to trust anyone around here, she seemed to have most of her trust placed in Loki. 

“And? It matters not who she trusts but that she is taught to control and advance her powers” Sif interjected, she liked Alina. She was honest and calm and lethal and she did not want Loki messing with her. 

“Aye. My mother is right. Magic is a complicated thing. Not only is Loki talented, but if she trusts him she is less likely to hold back her abilities or avoid learning” Thor rumbled 

“And if he corrupts her? If he teaches her magic or gives her power which causes her to be an enemy?” Volstagg asked 

Odin finally spoke. 

“She is pure of heart. The Infinity Stones are the universe's oldest power, they comprehend every spectrum of emotion and hold knowledge of every individual's past, present and future. For one to choose a individual, not as a vessel, but a companion, they must have the purest intentions”

“And if the gem is wrong? She may be pure now but what of Loki. What if he corrupts her” Hogun questioned 

“You must have faith in Loki. And if you cannot do that, have faith in the girl. She is wise beyond her years. I see it in all your eyes, you admire her greatly. She is steadfast and calm with the honor and integrity that even some of the most noble of warriors lack. As I said when Lady Alina first arrived here, I had been looking into her. She has worked for nothing but the purest intentions of harmony and peace on Midgard. If my son was to even try and corrupt her, I believe she would see through it immediately” 

“I fear Lady Alina would refuse to work with anyone else now. She has placed her trust in my brother as far as his teachings go and we must respect that if we wish for her to trust us too” Thor supported 

“So we are to leave the a beautiful young woman in the form of the universe's most formidable and greatest power in the hands of Loki?” Fandral sighed 

“There is no choice in the matter” Odin replied heavily 

//

“Again” Loki ordered 

Her eyes golden-green once again, she created daggers of energy and hurled them with precision and ferocity at the clones of himself. Each one disappeared with an accurate shot. This time, all of them were gone. It had taken him nearly two hours to get her to improve her accuracy enough to ‘kill’ all of his clones in a single burst of flying daggers. Albeit, she had improved quickly once she had gotten the feel for the flow of power in her veins. However, he was not letting her have an easy go of it. 

“Good.” he said simply before moving on to the use of force field and shield work.

She already had a good grasp of this. Shields as such seemed to come naturally to her but she was yet to be put under a situation where they would be required to withstand an attack from another being or keep them enclosed. Surprisingly, at his suggestion, she allowed him to attack her vigorously, taking his knives, daggers and magic against the shield. The first few times, she lost her concentration and they shattered but after a half hour she seemed to keep them up with little energy or concentration required. No matter how he attacked them they would not waver. 

As he finished his final attempt, he nodded, signaling that he had finished however she did not drop the shield. Instead, she formed 4 more of them around him trapping him inside her shield prison. He glared at her. 

“And what do you think you are doing?” he hissed, standing as close as possible to the shield without touching it. 

She smiled mischievously back at him. 

“Well now that you have taught me to keep these up with little to no energy or focus required, I think I might just trap you here” she teased 

“You will do no such thing” he smirked, equally as amused by her antics. He was yet to see this side of her. Her guard had dropped slightly and she was playing games with him. 

“Oh?” she tilted her head, the mischievous smirk still twitching the corners of her mouth

He summoned a clone of himself behind her and she whipped around, shocked. 

“What!” she gasped

He chuckled at her, his clone pushing her against her own shield. She subsequently dropped her own shield in defense and stumbled backwards. The clone disappeared and Loki caught her lightly, putting her back on her feet. 

“You try to play games with the God of Mischief and you will lose” his eyebrows raised in amusement 

She looked slightly disheveled, her hair a little messy and her lips parted still in shock. However, she looked back at him with a glimmer of challenge in her eyes. 

“We will see about that” she smiled 

“You fool yourself” he laughed at her

“How did you clone yourself?”

“Magic” he said with a false breathiness 

“Could I do it?” 

“Maybe. But I would like to work on your conjuring abilities first. See what else you can form with the ether” he said nonchalantly

Her mischievous demeanor dropped and she nodded. They went back to training and Loki watched her with a renewed curiosity as she furrowed her eyebrows in concentration, creating illusions. She had let her guard drop for only 5 minutes but it was so intriguing. Loki considered her; she was such an enigma. So calm and centred but she possessed a glimmer of mischief and magic when her guard was down. He loved it. He couldn’t pin her down. One moment she had him trapped, teasing him and the next she was focussed so intently on her illusions that it was like he was non existent to her. Her entire presence was fascinating to him and she was captivatingly beautiful. 

“Loki are you getting bored of this?” she grinned, her voice breaking his thoughts

“No, I was just considering what would be more useful to teach you next” he lied smoothly

“Mmm?” she hummed, the fierce gold-green glow disappearing from her eyes as she leant her face against the sofa, looking across at him.

“I think it is enough for today. We will pick this back up tomorrow” he replied 

She nodded and he got up to leave. As he reached the door, she spoke very gently. 

“Thank you Loki”

 

He froze. It had been a long time since anyone had genuinely thanked him for anything. 

“Rest. You will be exhausted after all this” he replied quietly, before slipping out the door.


	10. Distractions

“You are intrigued by her” Frigga said, smiling at Loki

“She is powerful” Loki shrugged 

“You may be an adept liar but I am your mother” 

“You’re not-” he began

“I raised you. I am your mother and no matter how many times you say I am not, it does not change the fact that I am and always will be” she interrupted 

Loki stayed silent. He was still thinking over the events of the previous days. In just one session Alina had gained great power; power that would have taken any average Asgardian sorcerer weeks to learn and control. Not only this but he was completely fascinated by the girl. The way she moved, her steady concentration, her eyes when they were filled with mischief, all of it confused and intrigued him. But, he did not have time to think this over as one problem still troubled him greatly: Who enchanted the dragon? 

“Something worries you, Loki. Is it Lady Alina? Is she not learning as you would have hoped?” Frigga questioned gently

“No mother. Lady Alina’s progress is much faster than one would expect. She is talented and powerful. But something otherwise bothers me…”

“And what would that be?”

“The dragon. It was enchanted. But by who? It was a blundered attempt but had Alina not been there to rather foolishly stop it, it’s likely it would have burnt much of the city before it was killed”

Frigga sighed. 

“I too am worried of this. It seems as if it serves as a distraction. As you said, had it not been for Lady Alina then we may have never known it was enchanted in the first place”

“You think it was a possible distraction from something else?” 

“It’s possible. Yet, whoever did it was clumsy and lazy with their magic. The beast had no intended target and was easily distracted and captured” 

“There is something suspicious about that event” Loki murmured

“I have already increased security in the castle. Particularly around Lady Alina’s quarters” 

Loki looked up at his mother slowly. He met her eyes with a tense stare. 

“You do not think Miss Everton is at risk?” he asked quietly

“She is the most sought after thing in the universe, although she may not know it or understand it yet. She is as powerful, if not more powerful than the Gauntlet and she already possesses and controls an Infinity stone. Part of the reason she was brought here was to ensure she was under Asgards watchful eye. We do not know who in the realms are aware of her” 

“So she is at risk” Loki said simply

“Yes. It is possible that the dragon was a ruse, a play to see how powerful she was, to evaluate if you will”

“What must we do?”

“Keep teaching her. The more control she has and the more magic she can wield, the more likely she is able to protect herself in the event something breaches our walls” 

Loki nodded. 

“She learns quickly” he said 

“You are interested in the girl” Frigga said knowingly 

“She possesses an Infinity stone”

Frigga laughed quietly. 

“As we are all aware my son. However, I think you find Lady Alina herself quite confusing”

“She evades me. I cannot seem to identify her emotions nor her motives” Loki admitted, his hands under his chin 

“She trusts you” 

Loki looked across to his mother, eyebrows raised. 

“And what makes you think out of all the people on Asgard, that she would trust me?” 

“As she evades you, she evades me too. I cannot tell you why but I can tell you that she does. She is more at ease around you than anyone else she has met so far”

“What of the server boy? She trusts him” he replied 

“Perhaps. It is hard to tell whether or not she trusts him or simply considers him a friendly face” Frigga responded 

“She is a strange woman” Loki murmured to himself 

At this, his brother, Sif and the Warriors Three entered the room. They were talking loudly and seemed to quieten down as they entered the room to find Loki and Frigga sitting in silence, both in deep thought. 

“Does something trouble you, my queen?” Fandral asked 

“Not at all Fandral, dear. Loki and I were merely discussing what magic would be the most useful to Lady Alina” Frigga lied with a smile.

“Ah and how is Asgard’s newest princess? I did not see her all day yesterday bar her back as she exited the throne room!” Fandral said,charmingly

“She is resting after today’s session” Loki said, still looking into the fire 

“Ah loki! I trust you have not exhausted the girl! You two were training all yesterday after your meeting with Odin and for all the morn and most the afternoon today. She even missed sparring this morning!” Fandral sounded disappointed, he liked Alina. She was honest and fierce.

“Not at all. Magic needs practice. She learns fast but the sheer power of the gem drains a lot of energy, she is simply getting used to it” he replied casually 

Fandral sensed a stiffness in Loki’s voice which he had not heard in a long time. Loki was rarely the one to worry but he seemed deep in concerned thought. Sif and Fandral exchanged a glance.

“Brother… Is Lady Alina well?”

“She is fine, Thor” Frigga answered 

“What troubles you so?”

After a certain amount of reluctance from Loki, Frigga explained the problem with the dragon and the concern the incident presented.

Thor nodded. 

“I see.. I have not thought of that” 

“What if Lady Alina was the one to enchant it” Hogun questioned in his naturally suspicious form

“No. She does not understand the concept well enough and if she did, her magic would be powerful enough to do a much better job” Loki replied 

“You shouldn’t speak of a Lady in such a way” Fandral chided Hogun

“He’s right. You shouldn’t” a voice replied dryly 

They all whipped around. Stood in the doorway, fully dressed in her usual black ensemble, was Alina. 

“Lady Alina…” Frigga said

She walked into the room. 

“And do not talk of my dragon in such a way” Alina said to Hogun, barely making eye contact before striding across the room and throwing a large book on the table

“Youre meant to be resting” Loki said, slightly concerned at her manner 

“And you’re not meant to be keeping secrets from me” she growled 

“How long have you been listening?” Thor asked 

“Long enough to know that you know more about the dragons enchantment than you let on. I did some research. The magic used on it was basic form magic that any higher being could learn. Midgardians, perhaps not but anyone from Asgard, Vanaheim, Jotunheim.. You get it. Any of them could have enchanted the dragon” 

“And?” Loki snarked 

“And that means the person had to be within roughly 700 meters of the Dragon at all times to cast and keep the enchantment alive”

“So?” Thor asked 

“So the enchanter was in the forest, Thor. Which means they are likely still on Asgard somewhere, if they are not one of your own citizens” 

Frigga seemed to consider this before speaking. 

“I will have some guards ask heimdall to look into the whereabouts of all our sorcerers right now and have some men canvas the forest as discreetly as possible”

“If they are not Asgardian’s themselves then they must have had to have come through the Bifrost?” Alina questioned 

“Not necessarily. There are 3 other ways into Asgard which are known only to few. One is through the tesseract but that is safely locked away in our vaults. The other two are cracks in security, one has been closed up since Thor and I entered the dark world but the other may remain open” 

Frigga looked to Thor at this. 

“Take Loki and close it up immediately. They may already be in but if it is closed, they cannot get out anyother way than through the bifrost”

Thor nodded and Loki stood up. Alina looked between the two.

“I’m coming with you” 

“No you are not” Loki replied sarcastically

“I am” she said, folding her arms 

“It’s not safe Lady Alina” Thor tried gently

“Nothing here is safe” she rolled her eyes 

“No” Loki said 

“I will just follow you anyway and would that not be more dangerous?” 

“I will have Fandral and Hogun restrain you” Thor shrugged, the two men moving forward 

“Will you now?” She responded, her eyes lighting up

“Fine Fine but only because you asked so nicely” Thor grinned 

Loki chuckled. Was Thor threatened by the girl? He certainly seemed to back down from her quickly.

“Get changed though” Thor said, he planned on disappearing with Loki while she went to change.

“What?” she asked 

“Asgardian garb. It attracts less attention” Sif added 

“Right” Alina said, she didnt move

Thor looked at her curiously. Then, in a golden glimmer, she completely changed her clothing. What was once black fitted combat pants and a black v neck was now a fitted teal dress with golden armored shoulder pads and arm cuffs. 

“What in the norns!” Thor exclaimed 

“Oh yes, I taught her that this morning” Loki grinned, a feeling of pride building as he looked at Thor’s confused face. Across from him, he caught eyes with Alina who was smiling at him cheekily. 

Within seconds the smile had dropped and her face turned neutral as she looked to Thor. 

“Shall we?” 

“Bring her back in one piece please” Frigga yelled as they walked out the doors.


	11. The Tesseract

A month had passed and Alina’s magic had been honed well. She had come to trust Loki more and considered Sif and Fandral and Volstagg as friends. She was still unsure of Hogun who remained quiet and suspicious. Meanwhile, Loki’s utter fascination for the girl grew. He caught himself watching her when she did not know. Particularly when she was sparring with Sif and Fandral or any of the other warriors, he was mesmerised by her quick movements, the way she evaluated people before attacking so accurately and with such force that they stood little chance. He was evermore curious that she did not use her magic. During sparring when she was taken by surprise or being beaten, she did not resort to underhand magic or even a flash of the eyes to throw her opponents off balance. 

Alina had grown more accustomed to Asgard as she had been there a month. She no longer blanched at the elaborate gowns they wore and today, she dressed in a traditional Asgardian lady’s dress. It was grecian styled, off white and floor length with golden beading, a green fabric drape and golden brass armour on her forearms. Today, all training had been called off as Loki, Thor and the warriors were taking a visit with Frigga and Odin to speak to a member in the dungeon. She had been point blank forbidden from the meeting and so she was wandering the castle with Eli. 

“I know I have said it before but you do look lovely” he said, smiling at her 

Unlike Fandral, Eli had never stopped flirting with her. Fandral still did from time to time but Eli did it constantly and it became painful to be in his presence. Today however, he seemed to have toned it back which she suspected was at Fandral’s warning. She’d have to thank him later. 

“Thanks Eli. Where are we anyway?”

“Ah, this is the entrance to the vaults. It seems we have wandered too far” he chuckled lightly

“What’s in there?” 

“Stuff that Odin wants to be kept safe, and before you ask: No we can’t go in” 

She rolled her eyes at him. 

They began wandering back up the hall and as they reached the large marble foyer, a strangled scream sounded behind them. They both whipped around. There was nothing there. Eli drew his sword, Alina pulled a dagger from her dress and they crept forward. As they reached the middle of the foyer, Eli froze. 

“What?” Alina whispered 

Eli nodded to the corridor in front of them. A blue creature stood there, maybe 8 or 9 feet tall. It’s body was like a humans but much larger and characteristically a stunning blue with lighter markings covering it’s face and hands. It wore strange armour and it’s eyes were a bright red. 

“Frost Giants” Eli said. 

Suddenly, they were surrounded. One jumped from the pillars, another came up behind them until they were surrounded by 8 in total. The first one they saw seemed to be holding a blue cube like object between his hands. Alina and Eli stood back to back watching as the Frost Giants circled them. 

A woman came around the corner and screamed before running off. The frost giants appeared unconcerned about this, even when multiple screams were heard from further away as news spread. All the on duty royal guards were at the prison across Asgard keeping a watchful eye on the Allfather and his companions. They were trapped.

//

Across the city in the dungeons, Loki walked beside Thor as they followed his mother and Odin to the far depths of the prison. He detested the place after his imprisonment here but the situation gave them no choice but to visit the one inmate that no one wanted to visit. Dus. A hybrid who had been imprisoned in Asgard’s cells for longer than he had been alive. The.. thing.. knew more about what other people knew than they knew themselves. Behind him, Lady Sif and the warriors three followed nervously. They had brought all the guards with them today as the situation was tense and unruly. 

“Dus” Odin spoke 

The thing, turned around in its cell. ⅓ skeleton, ⅓ monster, ⅓ asgardian, it smiled and Loki could feel his brother flinch. 

“Odin.. It has been quite some time” the thing rasped 

“I think you know why I am here” 

“More or less.. Information Information” 

Odin looked at the creature as it rasped. 

“Indeed, I seek information” 

“The orphan girl, no?” it hissed

Loki stiffened at this. Orphan? He brushed it off as a mistake. Odin did not reply. 

“Hmm Alina Everton. Possessor of the Soul Gem. Midgardian.. Mmn very beautiful. What do you wish to know of her?” 

Loki continued to tense and he felt the others do the same. The way which Das spoke of her was too knowing and he hated it. 

“We wish to know nothing of her but rather who else knows of her existence” 

Das smiled. Then he laughed a rasping, choking laugh. 

“You mean who in the realms knows of her possession of the soul gem?” he giggled 

“Indeed” Frigga answered 

Das stopped giggling and looked at them. 

“More than you think. There is an organisation on Midgard, a Hydra as such, which recently became aware and a few select individuals of your Son, Thor’s Shield. Yourselves, and much of Asgard of course. The new king of Jotunheim and his advisor and most trusted warrior are aware of the girl but have decided not to press the matter and instead are focussing their efforts on rebuilding Jotunheim. A few other individuals scattered throughout the universe were aware and have been aware of the young ladies existence” 

“And of Thanos?” 

“He is unaware even of the location of the soul gem, for now”

Odin nodded. 

“Oh.. and” Dus continued 

“What?” 

“8 more Frost Giants have become aware of Miss Everton as we speak”

“What do you mean?” Loki snapped 

“I mean, you are under attack. And your darling infinity gem is in quite the situation” Das smiled 

At this a woman came in, accompanied by guards. 

“My King! There are frost giants in the castle! They were outside the vaults!” she cried 

Everyone in the room exchanged panicked looks. 

“And.. and.. and” she hiccupped “and Eli and a dark haired woman with green eyes were surrounded! I.. I i just ran!” 

Loki didn’t listen to the rest, he just started running. Thor followed suit with Sif and the warriors three tailing quickly behind. As they reached outside, screams could be heard from the palace. Thor summoned Mjolnir and leaped into the air, Loki disappeared in a shimmer of golden dust and the Warriors leapt onto a air ship. 

Both Loki and Thor landed in the fighting pits and entered in a sprint towards the Vault Hall, the warriors in suit. As they reached the hall, they skidded to a stop to find both Eli and Alina back to back, weapons drawn, surrounded by more than half a dozen frost giants. 

Alina and Eli looked across at them tensely. 

“Unhand the tesseract!” Thor roared 

The frost giant merely laughed at his suggestion before all out battle ensued. As bodies and weapons began flying, a yell was heard across the hall. 

“Get her out of here!” Loki screamed at Eli who accordingly dragged her behind a pillar but something caught her sharp eyes. 

As Hogun fought one Frost Giant, another loomed behind him, it’s hand raised in an ice dagger. Taking Eli’s sword, she broke away from the pillar. 

“Hogun!” She yelled, jumping behind him and intersecting the frost giants blade with her own sword. 

She shoved Hogun out of the way, taking his sword as well and was now locked with both her swords pushing back against a separate frost giants’ blades. Kicking outwards at each of them, she sent them off balance and drove her swords through their chests. As they dropped to the ground, she brought up a forcefield, separating herself and the final standing 3 Jotuns and the warriors from each other. 

By this time, Frigga had arrived too. 

“Loki clone yourself in there!” Thor cried 

“I can’t!” he replied, slightly panicked 

“Mother??” Thor tried 

“Her magic is blocking ours” Frigga said 

They looked back to Alina, trapped in her own force field box with the 3 remaining Frost Giants. She began to stalk, moving with slow, calculated steps, her eyes bright gold green and her head tilted. 

“Another Infinity Stone… Do not kill her, I want her” the lead frost giant hissed 

The two at his side immediately leapt forward. At one point, Loki feared she may be losing as she was knocked to the ground by a backhand from one of the giants. She quickly got up and took a swing at his legs, knocking him down and spiking the sword through his throat before swirling and driving it through the chest of the second Frost giant, twisting it as she pulled it out.  
However, as quickly as his fear dissipated, it returned as the final Frost Giant opened the tesseract on her, blasting ices directly at her. To his genuine surprise, she reacted quickly enough to raise another shield and block the attack although it seemed to blow her backwards a little. She quickly regained her feet and attacked the Frost Giant. As they fought, it used the tesseract as a weapon both for it’s power and to swing it directly at her head. 

After a fatal kick to it’s shoulder, the frost giant dropped the Tesseract and Alina stumbled, falling on top of it. Obviously sick of her games, it formed an ice dagger from it’s hand and bore down on her. She rolled out of the way to her feet and the dagger went straight into the tesseract. There was a moment of dead silence before it began to crack and hiss. The Frost Giant drew it’s hand out and stepped backwards hastily. On her side, Alina did the same. 

The tesseract shattered open and out of it came a bright blue liquid substance, floating. Somewhere in between a mist and a liquid it hung with weight in the air between the two. With a quick, twisting movement it encompassed Alina entirely, wrapping her in it’s glow and then disappearing through her hands and mouth. She gasped loudly and seemed to struggle for air.  
In a final movement, she formed a golden dagger and hurled it at the Frost Giant's throat, killing it instantly. 

She fell to her knees and then to the ground with a groan. As she passed out, her shields fell. Loki sprinted to her side, dodging the bodies and leaning over her. She was tossing lightly and as he felt her head he realised she already had a rising fever. Frigga knelt down beside him and gave him a concerned look. 

“We need a healer, now” he growled 

Fandral and Volstagg kicked some of the bodies out of the way while Thor picked up the discarded Tesseract container with Sif by his side. Hogun knelt down and touched the girl's head with light finger tips, watching her moan slightly. 

“She saved my life” he said simply 

“What the hell was that?” Eli asked 

“It seems we now have two infinity stones in one place” Thor spoke quietly 

“You don’t mean…” Fandral trailed off

“I am afraid so. The space gem… the ether… it is now hers” Frigga said quietly 

“She is ill” Hogun said as Loki attempted to calm the girl down. She still tossed a little and moaned in pain and her temperature was only rising. 

At this, Loki realised that it was going to take far too long for anyone to come out of fear of the Frost Giants so he scooped her up into his arms and began to walk towards the healing rooms. She hung limply in his arms and occasionally shivered involuntarily. He turned on his heels, looking back at the group. 

“Healing rooms. Now” he said before disappearing with Alina in a shimmer of green.


	12. Reformation of Jotunheim

“Casualties?” Loki asked, leaning against the wall outside the healing rooms 

“All 8 Jotuns and 4 of our guards” Sif replied 

Down the hall, Thor and Frigga approached.

“We have spoken with my husband on the situation and he is making arrangements” 

“How is Lady Alina?” Thor asked 

“We don’t know. The healers kicked Loki out as soon as they saw the state of her” Fandral said

Frigga frowned and looked at her son. Loki was chewing the inside of his lip and every now and again he would push his hair back from his face. A healer popped her head out of the room. 

“You may come in. We have done all we can for her for now” 

They followed the woman down the steps and into the darkened room. On the slab in the middle of the room was Alina, slightly curled on her side and deathly still, her eyes shut and her face twisted in pain. Loki tensed his jaw. How did the Frost Giants get so far into the vaults and out again and why had they been so stupid as to take the guards with them today.

‘Is she going to be alright?” Frigga asked 

The healer hesitated. 

“We do not know. Her body temperature is rising and falling rapidly, her heart rate spikes and drops and she continues to be tense and seems to be in great pain which we cannot find a root to” 

Loki crouched down so his face was level with the slab. In a shimmer, he changed her clothes into her usual black ensemble and ran a hand over her limp arm. Her veins came up a bright blue and then a bright green. The soul and the space gems were definitely present. Even he understood the dangers of having two Infinity Stones in one place. 

“The Space stone has never been observed in Ether form, much less absorbed by a Mortal. There is no telling how her body might react” another healer said 

Hogun seemed slightly distressed as he place a hand on the girl’s forehead. She was warm again. Volstagg placed a hand on his shoulder and smiled weakly. 

“She’s a strong las this one, she will be ok”

At this Odin entered and in his wake were three Frost Giants. Everyone in the room drew their weapons and the healers gasped and ran. Loki and Sif stood protectively in front of Alina’s body. 

“Lower your weapons. This is Norfi, the new King of the Frost Giants and the restorer of Jotunheim. With him is his advisor Thiazzi and his best warrior, Surt” 

“Please, we are here to apologise and explain the incident. You see, there are certain groups who are still loyal to Laufey on Jotunheim. Rebels, if you will. Nearly 3 weeks ago, a group of them disappeared from our surveillance. We could not locate them. It seems they slipped through an unclosed portal which you later closed. It has been made aware to us that their plan was always to steal the Tesseract however when the portal was closed, they also needed it to return to Jotunheim and attempt to overthrow power” 

“Why should we trust this?” Thor asked 

“I did not expect you to. However we speak the truth and are here for the girl”

“Here for her…?” Loki growled 

“We can ease her pain, help her. The Space Gem was used for years a powerhouse for Jotunheim, it’s not really the large amount of power that’s hurting her, no, it’s the ice. It’s running through her veins and that’s why her temperature is changing so rapidly. Her mortal body is sensitive to the cold as it is”

Norfi moved towards Alina, his entourage following but Loki stepped in front of him. Norfi was at least 3ft taller than him but Loki still glared at him. Sif and Fandral looked alarmed. 

“Know that if she is harmed I will have no qualms destroying all of you” he hissed, before allowing them to pass. Surt glared at him as they moved past.

Norfi however placed a large hand on Alina’s cheek with kindness and a gentle demeanour. He stroked down her neck and once again, the veins came up a bright blue. He sighed and crouched down as Loki had, examining her face with calmness. As he set to work, he began to speak. 

“The dragon, one of the Jotuns was a mediocre sorcerer taught my an old man, now dead, but that is why you encountered that problem”

“I trust it will not be encountered again?” Odin asked calmly 

“I should not think so if all the Frost Giants from you vaults were killed”

“All dead” Hogun said 

“Then no, there should be no more of that.”

“And of the girl. What do you know of her?” Odin queried 

Norfi sighed and nodded to Surt and Thiazzi to explain while he worked”

“We have known of the girl well before you have.” Surt began 

“Laufey was aware of her but found the entire endeavour too strenuous to bother with. He wasn’t even completely sure she had the Soul Gem and he would have needed the tesseract to get to Midgard and back so the idea was discarded. However, the prophecy is know” Thiazzi said

“How do you know all this?” Frigga questioned 

“Laufey left behind great details about the Infinity Stones. We looked into this a little more but decided it was best we focussed on Jotunheim, although we did always keep best tabs we could on the woman” Surt answered 

“As for the Prophecy” Thiazzi continued “Well, most people know OF it, we just happened to recognise that it was her” 

Norfi finished with a small flash of blue light over Alina. 

“Give it a few moments” he said simply 

Surt brushed some hair out of Alina’s face and Loki, Fandral and Sif all tensed up, hardening their grip on their weapons at their sides.

“And what do you plan to do with this knowledge?” Frigga asked 

Norfi shrugged. 

“We have done nothing with it so far. We are simply here to undo as much of the damage the rebel Jotuns caused as we can” 

Odin nodded thoughtfully. 

“You ought to be careful… King Odin. Two Infinity Stones in one place is never the best idea.” 

“I am well aware. However it seems this is unavoidable unless someone unknown to us has discovered a way to extract the ether form” 

At this, Alina moaned a little and rolled gently onto her back. Her eyes fluttered a little and she made an attempt to raise a hand. 

Norfi leaned over her, placing a finger to her temple and checking her temperature. She had cooled down considerably. As her eyes opened wider, she cried out in fright and shot into a sitting position and then into a standing position, her eyes flicking rapidly between gold-green and bright icy blue. She advanced on the three Frost Giants quickly, raising bright shimmering green shields. The room temperature dropped considerably and ice shattered out across the floor at the bottom of her feet. 

“You’re them again” she said quietly, still advancing on the Frost Giants who were backing up against a wall. 

“ALINA NO” Thor yelled

“They tried to kill you all” she returned evenly without turning around

“Alina dear, these frost giants are not here to harm you. They healed you” Frigga began

“The Frost Giants you fought earlier, they were rebels, they rebelled against our system of rule and wanted to overthrow us by gaining the tesseract” Norfi spoke

Alina dropped the shields and closed her eyes. It took a full minute but she eventually returned her eyes to their natural green. She stumbled a little and Surt put a hand out to steady her, bending down slightly. She looked him in the eyes, he stared right back. She seemed to be evaluating him and after a tense moment, he let go of her arm and she stepped back. 

She still looked incredibly pale and dizzy on her feet but she was conscious and still retained her level headedness and that was enough for the Asgardians to accept Norfi’s intentions as authentic. Alina, despite her slightly dizzy state, seemed curious as to the situation and appeared to accept it with her usual ease and nonchalance. 

“Shall we speak somewhere… more suitable?” Odin rumbled 

“If you feel it is necessary. If not we will gladly take our leave, King Odin. We have fulfilled our purpose” Norfi nodded 

“I think this incident should be discussed” he replied simply, before taking his leave. 

They followed and despite Fandral, Volstagg and Sif’s subtle protests, Alina walked in between Norfi and Surt. They were at least 4 feet taller than her and incredibly intimidating in their large, blue demeanour but Alina was fascinated with them. She was also on guard in case they tried to pull what their ‘rebels’ pulled earlier in the day. The warrior looked down at her, equally curious as to how a midgardian could be so powerful. 

She caught his eye.

“Explain” she said simply

He felt the odd need to her as she looked at him with piercing eyes and a determined look. He grunted and looked across at Norfi, who nodded. 

“We are Frost Giants from the realm of Jotunheim.” 

“Do you all look like this?” 

“Give or take” Surt shrugged 

“And why were rebels in Asgard?”

“Asgard and Jotunheim have never been on good terms. We have been trying to restore our realm and it’s dignity after the death of the former leader, Laufey who attempted to murder King Odin. However, there are still few groups of Jotuns who disagree with our attempts to make peace.” Thiazzi cut in 

“What you saw this morning were rebels. The tesseract contained the Space Gem, an infinity stone of unparalleled power. It previously use to be a power hub, a power source if you will, for Jotunheim. Many Jotuns feel they have claim to it. The rebels decided the give a double blow” Surt said

“Both humiliate Asgard by stealing the Tesseract and then humiliate us by using it to destroy our progress and take the reign” Norfi finished 

“But one of your rebels destroyed the Tesseract” Alina replied carefully 

“Sort of…” Norfi trailed off 

“What do you mean?”

“It is less of the Tesseract and more of the Space Stone within it that was the power” Thiazzi explained 

All three of the frost giants had their eyes on her as she thought about this. 

“And what of the Space stone? The Jotun, he drove his hand into the center of it” 

“Well…” Norfi began 

Odin silenced them as the reached a room with a long table. They took their seats. The handmaidens scurrying around frightenedly due to the Frost Giants. The Asgardian’s took one side of the table while the Frost Giants took the other side. Alina hesitated before taking a seat in between Norfi and Surt, much to the evident shock of everyone present. However, Alina had learnt a lot in her years of work and one lesson was to find out as much as you can about what you are dealing with. She was already familiar with Asgardians, now it was time to become familiar with the Frost Giants, and hopefully earn their trust. Odin and Frigga who sat at the head of the table, exchanged a glance. 

Fandral was watching her with his hand rested tensely on the hilt of his sword where he sat. There was a quiet fall the room before Odin spoke. 

“Now we are all here together, I wish to make some things very very clear. After the events of today, and the past few weeks and the actions of those present; The Frost Giants will be declared an ally to Asgard, provided that they continue their efforts to stabilize Jotunheim and do not threaten the welfare of Asgard” 

“And we will endeavour to exceed that expectation and continue building an alliance between Jotunheim and Asgard” Norfi replied 

Odin nodded. 

“On one condition…” Norfi continued “The girl- Alina- she is required to be a declared Ally of Jotunheim” 

All eyes were on Alina as she looked to her side at Norfi. 

“Why?” 

“You are the Universe’s most powerful being, we do not wish you at any point to become an Enemy of Jotunheim” he replied 

“Dear, you may want to have some time to think about this..” Frigga began 

“No it’s fine. I will declare myself as Jotunheims ally” she said 

Norfi considered her and then nodded. 

“On one condition” she mimicked “You must uphold your bargain with Asgard and in addition to this, agree to hold a similar value with Midgard. If either realm is attacked, seized or destroyed at the hands of Frost Giants, directly or indirectly, then my end of the bargain will become non existent” 

Thiazzi leant across and said something quietly in Norfi’s ear. Surt remained silent but watched the mortal girl. She was brave, he considered. To make a bargain with Jotunheim is something not even Odin would do. Not if it put him as an individual at risk but here this girl was bargaining her allegiance and power around like she was an Asgardian Queen. 

“We accept these conditions and consider this exchange as an oath of our allegiance” Norfi nodded 

“Likewise” Alina replied 

In the corner, an Asgardian scribe noted the words down. The Asgardian warriors exchange glances and Thor and Loki looked to their parents. Odin was considering the entire situation with an almost false calmness whereas Frigga looked to Alina with slight concern. The girls actions were noble and brave but put her at great risk should any tensions arise between Jotunheim and Asgard. 

Norfi looked to Odin. 

“And what shall you do with the Tesseract now that it is just a shell?”

“It is but a shell and will be put away in case any further use for it arises however the Space gem is now in another… capsule” Odin trailed off 

Alina’s head snapped up at this. 

“No..” she said incredulously 

“Im afraid so” Norfi spoke 

“Two of them” she said, continuing to speak as if to herself 

“What are you going to do, King Odin?” Surt asked curtly 

“There is nothing to be done about separating them. If the stone chooses the girl then even if we encountered a convergence, they still would not leave her” 

“I assume you understand how incredibly dangerous it is to hold two infinity stones in one place” Thiazzi questioned 

“I am well aware…” he looked across at Alina who met his eyes. 

“What are the effects?” She asked quietly 

“The stones chose you. There should be little adverse affects on you. They deem you powerful and therefore they shall not try to overrun your body or your control of them. You are considered their master”

“Then what are these dangers?”

“The infinity stones are.. unique” Thiazzi began “Powerful on their own, but together they can be used as the ultimate destructive weapon… It is why they were separated in the first place and why they continue to be separated by who ever comes across them” he nodded to Odin 

“You are in control of 2 of them. Right now, you are the universe's most dangerous and most powerful person. Two stones were never meant to be in the control of one person and all the stones should never be in the same place at once. There are certain beings in the universe who wish to put all the infinity stones to use to destroy their enemies and even whole realms” Odin replied 

“Am I dangerous?”

“No, you are IN danger” Norfi replied 

“So what we have established is nothing different from usual” Alina replied dryly 

Surt looked at her skeptically. The girl did not seem particularly scared of the situation or of the people after her. The again, she did not understand the prophecy and therefore could not possibly understand the gravity of the situation and the importance of her gaining another Infinity Stone.

Norfi chuckled at the girl. 

“No, nothing different” 

“Well we have come to an agreement and established terms so you are welcome to leave” Odin said 

“Thank you for your generosity and understanding, King Odin” Norfi nodded 

“I will send my Sons and 4 best warriors to escort you to the bifrost” Odin continued 

Surt seemed to scowl a little but Norfi simply nodded and then looked to the girl next to him. She seemed to still be a little bit dizzy and was still processing the information. 

“Mortal girl?” he questioned 

“Yes?” 

“I would like you to escort us too, as a show of our alliance and for safety” 

“As you wish” she shrugged, standing.

As they exited the room, Frigga leaned across to Loki. 

“Watch her” she said quietly to her son 

Loki nodded. He had no plans not to watch her. 

The journey was relatively quiet and the warriors were surprised to learn Alina was an adept rider and took control of a white horse with complete ease.   
As they reached the bifrost, they dismounted and Heimdall greeted them. He nodded to the Frost Giants and gave a concerned look to Alina before greeting Thor and the Warriors with a warm greeting. 

Inside, the frost giants were ready to leave and Alina, Thor, Loki and the warriors stood a safe distance from the entrance. Before they left however, Norfi waved at Alina. She walked over, much to the protest of Fandral who had grabbed her by the arm. 

“I’d like to show you something. Do not worry it does not require you leaving here” 

She nodded. 

He placed each of his hands on either side of her face and bent down a little, looking into her eyes. She glanced down. 

“Look at me” he said deeply 

She did so. 

In a flash she saw memories. Of Frigga dying, of Loki dying, of a world so dark and of a creature which she somehow knew as a dark elf. She did not understand how but she understood exactly why and what and when and what she had to do with it. Gasping, with tears in her eyes, she looked up at Norfi. 

“Why?” she mouthed 

“It is your right to know your importance, even if I am forbidden to show you everything” 

“I… it was real”

“You will understand. You do understand. That is the power of the Space Stone. You are connected to the Jotuns through it and we are at your service” 

“Of course” she said, stepping back as they disappeared in a flash of rainbow light. 

Alina remained silent the entire ride back. She looked shaken and worried. Upon arriving back at the Palace, she dismounted and brushed past Frigga and Odin, keeping her eyes on the ground, she retired to her room for the night. 

Thor explained to his parents the strange occurrence which had happened at the bifrost. Frigga seemed to sigh and put a hand on her blonde son’s shoulder. 

“Let her rest, we will bring it up tomorrow”


	13. Loki's heritage

The next day, Alina still looked shaken. Loki had never seen her this consumed in her thoughts. He watched her as she sat across the room from him in a chair, her arms around her waist and her head against the top of the chair, staring out the window blankly. Sif was pacing the room anxiously and Fandral too, was watching Alina. 

Frigga entered, breaking the silence that had fallen over them. She looked to Alina and her lips formed a worried, tight lipped smile. 

“Alina…” She tried gently 

The girl looked up at her and Frigga saw her eyes fill with pain. Slowly, she made her way over to the girl and sat down. 

“What worries you so?” 

Alina looked her in the eyes steadily. 

“You’re meant to be dead” she said quietly 

“What?” Loki hissed, immediately becoming defensive. 

Frigga waved her behind her to silence Loki. 

“You’re meant to be too” Alina said, not looking at Loki. 

“Are you quite well?” Fandral asked, concern written all over his face. 

“I am fine” 

“Pray do explain then” Frigga asked 

“You were killed by a dark elf… mmn.. Malekeith protecting Thor’s lover from him and another elf, a Kursed.. Stabbed by him. Loki died at the Kursed hands too, in the dark world. He saved Thor but in return was stabbed and died.. It..”

“That didn’t happen Lady Alina.. My mother and brother are right here”

“It did and it didn’t. You committed treason. You all did.” she said looking him in the eyes

They were taken aback. Unless she had been told explicitly, there was no way she could possibly know this, the treason had been hushed up to avoid public scandal. 

“But I did not die” Loki said 

“You did and you didn’t it’s hard to explain..”

“Well do explain” Sif demanded anxiously 

Alina extended her hand to Loki. Curious, he took it. 

“I would take the stairs to the left” she said evenly 

Suddenly, he cried out as he saw himself in his cell saying those very words to the Kursed. 

“What in hel’s name!” He mumbled 

“What?” Thor asked 

“I saw.. me.. I said those words.. I told the Kursed to take the stairs. But, that didnt happen..”

“Exactly. I made you remember a memory that didn’t happen” Alina said

“How?” Hogun asked 

“Because it did happen. You committed treason with the aid of Loki and Heimdall, but AFTER Frigga was killed because Odin was too blinded by grief to allow you to do it lawfully. In the Dark world, Loki then died at the Hands of the Kursed” 

Everyone fell quiet. Loki still had his hand in hers when she said quietly. 

“Im a fool” 

At this Loki yelled in shock as he saw himself dying, in Thor's arms. 

“I was dying” he murmured 

“You died” Alina replied simply

“how is this..” Volstagg trailed off

“Do you always do funerals like that in Asgard? The arrow lit on fire and the boats and lanterns?” She queried 

They all looked at her shocked, yet again. There is absolutely no way she could have known that. It was reserved for only the royals and chosen people and had not happened in thousands of years. 

“What is this?” Frigga asked 

“It’s me. I caused it. Or rather, I changed it. Norfi, showed me”

“How?”

“The tesseract spent so long on Jotunheim that the space stone within it became attached to the place and to the people which is why Ice is now one of it’s capabilities. It’s much like how Malekith had a connection with the dark ether because he had previously wielded it.” 

“What does this mean?” Sif asked 

“It means that my birth, my possession of the soul stone changed fixed points in time. In the time continuum, Frigga and Loki’s deaths were fixed and happened due to a chain reaction of things and caused a chain reaction of things. However, when I was born or whenever the Soul gem became mine, it completely threw off the continuum, altering reality and changing the chain of events which lead to your deaths, thus preventing your deaths” 

“That.. is plausible” Frigga said 

 

“So you saved their lives?” Thor asked 

“Indirectly. My life stopped your deaths.. It’s like a time loop if you will. If I had never existed then both Frigga and Loki would be dead. However my existence prevented those events from ever taking place”

“It seems you have saved the lives of 3 people in this room” Hogun said quietly 

She gave him a questioning look. 

“I am at your service” he said simply 

Alina smiled and then frowned slightly. 

“However I feel you are keeping something from me. The Infinity Stones have always existed so it is not their existence that prevented your deaths and changed fixed points in time. Rather, it is specifically my existence in conjunction with the Infinity Stones that triggered it. There’s something missing”

Frigga pursed her lips. Loki came to realise he was still holding Alina’s hand but feigned indifference to it. Alina shrugged before standing up. Still holding Loki’s hand, she turned to him. 

“So, does this Space Stone mean you have to reteach me?” She smiled weakly 

“Not reteach as such but you have some new things to learn. Luckily for you, Ice is my specialty”

She dropped his hand, much to his disappointment and gestured to the room. 

“Where to?” 

“Hm as much as I would love to smash things, it would be best if we were outside for this” he smirked 

“You have been graced with a beautiful day then” Frigga smiled 

Loki nodded. Alina still looked vaguely worried but it seemed to have dissipated a little after having her thoughts validated by Frigga. 

“Sparring tomorrow?” Sif offered 

“Only if you are ready to get your ass handed to you” Alina grinned 

“As if” Sif let out a relieved smile as Alina and Loki left the room. 

Loki led Alina out to a foyer with a balcony. He sat himself down against one of the pillars facing outwards looking over the city and looked up at Alina expectantly. She followed suit.   
They sat, looking out over the city for at least half an hour before Alina broached any topic of conversation. 

“So, what am I being taught exactly?”

He looked across at her, eyebrows raised slightly. She looked at him expectantly and he took a deep breath before speaking. Immediately she sensed something was off and her face dropped into an unreadable expression. 

“Do you know why my specialty is Ice?” He asked 

She shook her head cautiously. 

“It is because I am, for at least a part, Frost Giant” he said 

She seemed to evaluate him quietly at this before speaking. 

“You do not look it” 

“Summon some Ice” he demanded 

“My control.. It isn’t..” 

“Do as I say” 

At his leering tone, she did so. Forming a clump of ice in her hand, it stung and she hissed. He touched it as it began to form larger and his hand started fading from it’s neutral skin tone to a blue. Alina watched this, ignoring the pain she felt at the formation of the ice. Suddenly, Loki withdrew his hand and rubbed it. Alina dropped the ice, shaking her own hand vigorously  
Loki watched the girl. She reacted calmly and did jump or run in shock. 

“That’s beautiful” she said with a small smile. 

He was taken aback. Surely she could not think that horrendous blue skin and Jotun heritage as beautiful? He furrowed his eyebrows. 

“I mean, it’s unique which makes it beautiful. I doubt there is anyone else like that” she offered to his questioning gaze

“It makes me a monster” he replied harshly 

“Because of your frost giant heritage? Hardly. The frost giants yesterday proved that they can have good intentions and if you mean by the skin tone then again, hardly. It is unique and beautiful and it likely gives you a range of magical abilities that others do not have” She shrugged with a small smile. 

He continued to look at her with a mixture of emotions. No one had ever looked upon him as anything but a monster. She smiled back at his confused look. 

“You can make flowers you know” He finally said 

The next hour was him attempting to teach her the control of form of ice which she had trouble grasping. However he was more and more intrigued with the girl. She accepted things with such ease and grace and melted into situations like a shadow. He didn’t understand her. She dealt with the frost giants like a diplomat and upon learning of his distasteful heritage, simply looked at him the same; as a prince. She barely batted an eyelid at his show of heritage and even went as far to call it,him, beautiful. Her acceptance was something he had never encountered before. Even his brother was shocked to find him a frost giant, and even his own mother had some time readjusting when Odin had first told her when he was but a baby. Alina however came across completely unfazed. She thought he was beautiful, unique even.

It seemed Odin had finally done something good for once.

Frigga watched the pair from where she stood, concealed in the doorway. She smiled, pleased to see her son was finally accepted by someone. Alina had such a positive effect on Loki and to watch her accept his heritage which such calmness and with pure intention was particularly pleasing. The girl was smart and calm and level headed. If she wasn’t Midgardian, Frigga mused, one would mistake her for a Princess or even a Queen.


	14. Meet the Avengers

Thor had disappeared down to Midgard on some obscure request from Odin and as such, the palace was infinitely more quiet. It was actually nice. Alina had spent the past 2 days with Sven and her dragon which she had decided to name Alfie. In the mornings, she trained with The Warriors Three and Lady Sif and in the late evenings she would practice with Loki and occasionally Frigga, whom she had come to like very much.  
Although she had trouble with the Space Stone, by the end of the week she had grasped the ability to interfere with other objects and had even achieved some minor teleportation. Nothing more than across the room, but it had impressed both Frigga and Loki who did not think her capable enough to pull of such magic.  
Alina herself had grown more and more intrigued by Loki. He was clever and mysterious and she felt inevitably drawn to his presence, particularly over the past week as she spent more and more time with him. He kept her on her toes constantly and a part of her enjoyed it. However, she also trusted him more than anyone else in the place. He had kept his word every time and despite his acts in the past, she felt no intentions of his to harm her.  
However today, she found herself arguing with him. 

“Why the hell shouldn’t I be allowed to?” she demanded. 

He had discovered her practicing her magic alone and had disagreed with it immediately. 

“Because it’s dangerous” he replied. 

She had been arguing with him for 10 minutes now and things were getting heated. 

“No shit Loki. Of course it’s dangerous but it’s no more dangerous than any other time” she growled 

“You just shouldn’t” 

“Oh wow that’s specific. Really justified Loki!” 

“You should be supervised! There’s no telling if another ability may come to light!” he hissed back 

“Oh yeah I am sure your teaching is that bad. What have you even been doing for the past few days?!”

“You will NOT practice unsupervised”

“Yeah well you’re not in charge so I’ll do as I pleased” 

Suddenly, he turned on his heel and pinned her against a wall, taking her hands and pinning them either side of her head. She gasped in shock and he pressed his body against hers, his forehead very nearly pressed against hers. 

“You will do as you’re told” he purred, his eyes piercing hers 

She tried to struggle in response but he held her tighter, putting his full weight against her body. 

“I will not” she gasped 

Loki smirked. He leaned forward until his lips were against her ear. 

“You will do as I tell you darling or there will be consequences”

He felt her breathing hitch and a shiver run through her. He chuckled against her ear and ran his lips down her jaw before drawing his face back to look her in the eyes. Her defiance had crumbled a little; her eyes were slightly wider and her lips were parted. In a moment, it was gone and she glared back at him, pushing him of her.  
He took the opportunity to bring her attitude back a little more and towered over her, causing her to take a natural step backward into the wall. She set her jaw and stuck out her chin defiantly. She really did have lovely cheekbones he mused as he moved a hand to her hip and another under her chin.

 

“Is that clear?” he murmured 

“Perfectly. It does not mean I will listen however” she glared back

“I think you will” he hovered his lips tantalizing close to hers. She did not move. She couldn’t move, her mind was so occupied on his closeness that she had completely forgotten the situation. He chuckled lightly before pulling back completely. He enjoyed watching the flash of confusion in her eyes. She was so proud and stubborn but he could have sworn he saw a flash of lust cloud her judgement for just a few seconds. It excited him. She was like a game and he could never tell what her moves were going to be. 

Sif entered the room and looked between Loki and Alina who seemed to be having some sort of stare down. 

“The all father has requested you both” 

Alina glanced at Loki with furrowed eyebrows, her neutral demeanor returning before she nodded at Sif and left the room. He followed suit, his eyes raking over her body as she walked away from him. 

Fandral, Volstagg, Hogun and Frigga were already in the throne room when Loki and Alina entered behind Sif. Odin was sat in his Throne with Thor to his left, leaning against a pillar. 

“What did you do?” Alina asked Loki quietly 

He raised his eyebrows. 

“I have done nothing to be of this concern” he replied, equally as curious to the situation

Odin had been watching Alina the entire time and Loki began to feel very protective over the girl. There was something in Odin’s eye which told him that this was about her directly.  
He looked to his mother who smiled at him gently, he turned his concerned gaze to the back of Alina’s head.

“As you are aware, Thor has been absent for the past days” Odin began

“Believe me we noticed” Loki said, earning a disapproving look from Odin

“He has been on Midgard, liasoning with his Avengers there about Miss Everton returning to Midgard” he spoke solemnly

Alina’s head snapped up.

“Really?”

“There are situations on Midgard which require Thor’s assistance in the coming months and due to this he will be taking up residence on Midgard. We have talked and have come to the conclusion that it is safe for you to also take up residence there” 

Alina raised her eyebrows.

“But…?” She prompted

“What?”

“There is always a condition”

“Indeed. You must stay under the supervision of Thor and his Avengers”

Alina groaned. She knew what this meant: SHIELD was going to re employ her and she was at their mercy.

“And-” Odin continued

“And?” Alina asked

“Loki will also being going with you” 

Sif coughed. Volstagg and Hogun exchanged looks. 

“Why?” Fandral asked

“Thor has spoken to his Avengers and they have agreed to allow Loki into Midgard due to his importance to Miss Everton’s abilities and the nature of situations of Midgard.”

Loki raised his eyebrows. This was certainly not what he had been expecting however the decision was interesting and sparked his curiousity. Although, he doubted the Avengers were pleased about the situation but that simply made it funnier. 

“Lady Alina…?” Thor asked

“Of course I want to go back. It’s just another continent to the one you took me from and another agency from the one you took me from. The logistics should be… interesting”

“Ah, I mentioned the situation to Mr Stark and he is already making arrangements for you” Thor smiled 

“Really? Thank You” she smiled back

“I spoke to him not a day ago” Thor laughed 

“When do we leave?” Loki asked 

“Brother! I expected you to protest this greatly! We leave as immediately as possible!” 

“You could say I miss your little friends” Loki smirked 

Thor frowned. 

“The man of Iron has his conditions… We must all stay in his Avengers Tower in the proximity to the other Avengers.” 

Loki shrugged. Alina sighed. It was going to be a hell of greeting, she thought skeptically.

“I expect there is no protests?” Odin demanded 

“None” Thor said 

“Good. Don’t destroy Midgard” he said pointedly before getting up and walking out. 

Frigga walked toward them and had a gentle conversation with her two sons while Fandral talked nonsense about how dangerous Midgard would be for her. 

“Stay safe dear” Frigga said, pulling her into a tight hug 

“And look after Loki” she whispered gently as she pulled away. 

Alina nodded with a small smile and Frigga left. 

“To the Bifrost!” Thor laughed 

Thor went down first to ensure that The Avengers and the rest of SHIELD were well prepared for Loki to turn up at their doorsteps. As he did this, Alina and Loki stood with the warriors three and Sif in the bifrost quietly. Alina had not slept well the night before and the tiredness was catching up with her quickly.  
After nearly half an hour of quiet conversation between the group, Heimdall finally spoke. 

“Thor is ready for you both now” 

Alina glanced to Loki who in turn glanced to her. The girl looked troubled by something. As they took a step forward, Sif grabbed her wrist and stopped her. 

“We’ll miss having you in the sparring pits” she said  
“Equally, I will miss having sparring pits. But, duty calls” Alina smiled 

Sif nodded, and in a rare show of affection, hugged Alina quickly before letting go and backing up. Even Hogun raised his eyebrows at this. Goodbyes were exchanged between them and Fandral took the opportunity to land a quick peck on the lips before laughing and taking a step back. 

“Stay safe and may Valhalla be with you” Hogun said, bowing slightly. 

“Same goes for you” Alina said 

Both her and Loki took a step forward and Loki extended his arm slightly to her. She looked to her side at him and raised her eyebrows before taking his arm and being sucked into the Bifrost.  
It was equally as bustling as the first time she had been sucked through however this time she did not have an enchantment on her which made the experience all the more pleasant.  
Upon hitting the ground, she stumbled forward, letting go of Loki’s arm before righting herself. They were on a circular platform jutting out from a building. She turned around and saw it looked out over New York. It felt good to be back on Earth. Loki too stood next to her and looked out over the city. Behind them, an automatic door slid open and they turned around. 

Tony Stark stood in his full Iron Man suit accompanied by Rhodey in his, Captain America also suited up along with Natasha Romanov, Clint Barton, Sam Wilson and Thor. Bruce Banner stood with them too, although he was thankfully not suited up. In front of them, stood Nick Fury and Agent Phil Coulson. There was a good 10 meters in between them and nobody moved. Alina thanked the fact she was dressed in black combat pants with matching black leather combat boots and a white V neck. Had she been in Asgardian garb, she would have kicked herself. 

“Agent Alina Everton” Fury called out 

Alina nodded back, her hands clasped behind her back. Loki looked at her with raised eyebrows. They approached until only 6 meters were in between them, before Alina put out a hand and prevented Loki from proceeding. He rolled his eyes, looking to the sky before reverting them back to the group in front of him. He did a double take as he saw Phil Coulson standing there, his eyebrows rising even further than before. 

“Now you’re definitely not meant to be alive” he said 

“Yeah well, things worked out differently” Coulson said behind his glasses 

“Hm.. Well I am sorry about that” 

Coulson looked taken aback at his apology, however insincere it may have been. 

“Noted” he replied  
“Fury, Coulson” Alina nodded to them 

Coulson gave a tight lipped smile. Fury evaluated her for a second before looking to Coulson who produced a folder from his jacket.

“Standard procedure” Fury said as Coulson handed her the file and a pen 

She sighed. Shield contracts. 

“What are you making her sign?” Steve spoke for the first time, looking at the girl with concern. 

“Standard terms of work contract” Fury replied 

The girl smiled at him. 

“If I become a traitor or share information, I conveniently get found dead” she suggested to him gently 

“Is this necessary” Thor prompted 

“It is. Miss Everton is an agent and she must adhere to those rules” 

“And what of Loki?” Tony asked through his suit

“Nice to see you too” Loki said 

“If you think Loki will be bound by a contract then you are not the heroes earth needs” Alina muttered into the papers 

“Who’s to say you will be bound by a contract?” Agent Romanov asked 

“If I do not wish to be bound to them then no, I certainly won’t be held back by a contract but since I have no intentions of breaking it then I see little harm in signing the thing if it makes SHIELD feel like they have some control” she offered 

She handed back the papers and Fury nodded. 

“Now that is done we will go inside and talk about what the hell is happening around here” Fury said bluntly 

They began to walk inside through the automatic doors and Stark, Rhodey and Captain America circled around behind Loki and Alina while the others walked in front. Loki rolled his eyes. He had no foul intentions this time. No, rather he found the entire situation one that could be incredibly amusing in the months to come. He leaned down to Alina. 

“You never mentioned you worked for SHIELD”  
“It’s complicated” she replied dryly 

“How could it not be?” 

“Don’t push it Loki. Just because you know me doesn’t mean I won’t hesitate to slam your head into a wall if you provoke the situation” She growled 

Behind her Stark stifled a laugh and Clint choked a little also trying to hide a giggle. Loki raised his eyebrows. 

“As you wish” he shrugged. 

This was going to be interesting.


	15. Allegiance

As they ventured inside, each of the avengers were already forming opinions of the girl. The situation had been explained to them yet she did not seem to hint at any power. Steve remained somewhat suspicious but a part of him trusted the girl inexplicably whereas Tony instantly liked the girl who held herself well against all of them and Loki. Bruce was indifferent but impressed by the work she had done in the past and Rhodey had some levels of skepticism. Clint was too focussed on Loki to even think about the girl and while Natasha was similar, she instantly regarded Alina as someone who could hold her own, considering her extent of control on Loki. Sam just flat out was too focussed on her high cheekbones, green eyes and slim figure to think much of anything else. 

Inside the avengers all took their various seats, including Thor who sat down next to Tony once he had removed his Iron Man suit. Subsequently, Alina sat down too and Loki followed suit. Fury cleared his throat, walking in small paces back and forth. 

“As you may be aware, Thor came to us 3 days ago with knowledge and presented a situation to us” he eyed Alina 

“Yes” Thor remarked 

“It seems that since your… abduction... by Thor and Loki your situation has changed, Miss Everton” 

“She’s an enhanced” Steve stated quietly 

“No no no she isn’t AN enhanced she’s THE enhanced” Tony burst out excitedly 

Loki noted Alina’s expression had remained neutral. It must be training he mused curiously.   
“She is an ultimate cosmic power. Imagine the power which Loki’s scepter produced but ten fold” Banner butted in, equally as excited 

“Exactly. And, as such, we think she would be an excellent addition to SHIELD” Coulson remarked 

“And what would that position be?” Alina asked evenly 

“The same as your previous position in our forensics since your work there was unprecedented but we would like to put you forward to also work with the Avengers” Fury noted 

Alina looked around the room and then leant back into the sofa, closing her eyes for a moment before looking back at Fury. 

“It appears I don’t have a choice” she replied 

“No, you don’t” 

By this point, Tony and Bruce were pretty much bouncing in their seats with excitement. 

“Ok Ok Ok but can you show us now please?” Tony asked 

Loki laughed at this which earned him a glare from Tony. Alina nodded and stood up, looking to Loki questioningly. 

“Soul. Stick to what you know well” he replied to her look 

She nodded and in seconds her eyes were the bright golden-green that he knew so well from the days on end of training. Around her hands was a shimmering mist to match her eyes. The room was quiet. 

“Holy shit that’s cool” Tony said, immediately standing up and walking over to her. 

Steve also stood up. 

“Stark, don’t crowd her” he suggested, worried that Tony’s sudden movements may scare the girl or cause her to react. 

Bruce approached cautiously. 

“What can you do?” he asked, putting on his glasses and examining her. 

“This is the soul gem… I can use basic magic, shields, change my clothing and appearance, and form objects like daggers and knives to attack people. Also energy blasts. I assume Loki will explain it better..” she replied 

“Pics or it didn’t happen” Tony jived 

Flicking her wrist, she threw a shimmering shield up in between Tony and herself and he jumped back in shock. Fascinated, Bruce reached out but hesitated before touching it, looking at Alina. 

“It won’t hurt you” she smiled 

He very gently ran his fingers down the shimmering forcefield and looked back up at Alina incredulously. 

“That’s amazing..” he trailed off, looking back at the shimmer. 

As she stood, she formed 3 golden daggers in the air and sent them flying into Tony’s wall before dissipating them into nothing again. 

“And of the other.. uh.. Thor said you had like 2 stones or something?” Clint asked 

“You can do more?” Tony asked excitedly 

“That’s enough” Loki said and all eyes turned to him

“She’s not in good enough control yet to be wielding the second stone at leisure” he said, answering their looks. 

Alina’s eyes reverted back to green and she sat down again. 

“May I.. I mean once this is over would you.. could you come to Tony and I’s lab just so we can run a few tests?” Bruce asked sheepishly 

Alina nodded with a small, tight smile.

“Anyway.. First of all; Loki we want to hear everything you know about Miss Everton’s abilities” Fury demanded 

Loki smirked, looking around the room. With raised eyebrows, he explained everything from Alina’s ownership of the Soul and Space gem to how they reacted and worked to how many others there were to his tutorship over Alina. He conveniently left out the prophecy but when he had finished the room fell silent.

“Well, Miss Everton has declared herself an ally of SHIELD so we have nothing to fear from her unique abilities. However…” Fury trailed off 

“You’re asking if I am an ally?” Loki remarked 

The whole room stared him down. He pretended to muse on the thought, just for entertainment of the reactions in the room before speaking.

“As long as Miss Everton remains an Ally to SHIELD, I will do so also” he smirked 

“This requires you to cooperate on information and possible missions” Steve stated flatly 

“Have I not just proved I am willing to co operate by explaining to you mortals the Infinity Stones? Thor would had known had I spoken a falsity on them” he replied simply

“My brother spoke the truth” Thor said

“As it is then. But step one foot out of line and we will not hesitate to put you right back in the cage you started in” Fury threatened to Loki

“I do remember getting out of that cage” Loki replied with an eyebrow raised 

“Don’t push it” Alina murmured to him and he again, looked to the ceiling.

“You both have your own quarters and JARVIS will be available at all times. The rest of us, the avengers, are around so don’t even think of trying any funny business” Tony spoke carefully, mainly directing his comment at Loki who once again scoffed at him 

“And of my work?” Alina asked, looking to Fury 

“Bottom floors of the Avengers Tower are dedicated to SHIELD work. You’ll find we have already set up your lab for you and will alert you when we start bringing remains in” Coulson remarked 

She nodded in return and looked to Thor. 

“What are these ‘situations’ that you are tending to?” she asked curiously 

“Actually… it’s Loki’s scepter” Natasha said

Loki raised his eyebrows. That scepter was not something you want to lose.

“We believe HYDRA has it at the moment but we’ll brief you tomorrow on it’s retrieval… and Loki… we require your cooperation on this” Steve sighed 

“More than obliged” Loki grinned and the room tensed a little bit more 

Alina however was now deep in thought about the entire situation. It was not only unusual but it was going to prove particularly hard due to the Avengers warranted distrust of Loki. She was going to have to keep him well in line for this to run as close to smooth as was possible. One little betrayal and she knew shit would hit the fan and right now, they obviously could not afford for that to happen. Not when she needed Loki to help her gain control of the Space gem and not when she trusted him as such.  
Sam noticed the girl’s worried look and nudged Steve gently, nodding to her. Steve felt for the girl. She had been kidnapped by Gods and had her life altered by some sort of enhanced power, as well as working in the field she did. It couldn’t be easy for her at all and she wasn’t stupid. She understood the tensions and the affect they may have and she was quite obviously thinking her moves over.

“We will talk more in the morning. As for now, Thor, Tony, Rhodey escort Loki to his room?” Steve asked 

Loki scoffed and rolled his eyes. If he wanted to get up to mischief or destroy their pathetic lives he would have done so already. Still, he stood and walked with Thor and the two Iron men out of the room. 

“Me and Sam will take Alina” Steve smiled gently

Alina nodded to Fury and Coulson as she passed them. They too rose to make their leave.   
They walked down the hallway quietly, Steve and Sam either side of her. They exchanged a glance. The girl had a completely calm and neutral demeanor about her but even they could tell she was exhausted and immersed in thinking over the situation. 

“It must be tough, spending all your time around a psychopathic nutjob” Sam joked lightly 

She smiled back at him. 

“I did not spend all my time with him, believe me. And he is yet to try and kill me so I will give him a point for that” 

‘I’m sorry you’re in this situation” Steve offered 

“It can’t be helped. I feel more sorry for you having to live with Tony” she grinned 

“Yeah and now you have to live with him too” Steve laughed, his previous suspicions of her had dissipated slightly. He liked her honesty and level headedness 

“Are your eyes naturally that colour?” Sam asked 

“Yes they are. Although it has been suggested that they are slightly brighter because of the Soul gem” 

“They’re nice, regardless” 

“Thank you” she gave him a tired smile 

“You know New York well?” Steve asked 

“I used to work for the NYPD for a while. I lived in Brooklyn” 

 

“I lived in Brooklyn!” Steve exclaimed happily 

“I think it may have changed a bit” she winked 

“Just a little” Steve smiled 

As they rounded a corner, Alina walked straight into a man who seemed to appear from absolutely nowhere. Reflexively, he grabbed her forearms to keep her from stumbling. Out of habit, she looked down at his hands and noticed one arm was completely metal. She glanced up and looked him in the eyes. He evaluated her with the tact and precision of a soldier. To her sides, Sam and Steve stood watching, ready to act just in case.   
The man had dark brown hair, a similar colour to her own, which hung on the longer side over his face. His eyes looked even and evaluating but something looked slightly haunting about them. Still holding onto her, he began to speak. 

“Sorry, I shouldn’t have been lurking. Did I scare you?” 

“Very little scares me anymore, Sir” she offered back

He genuinely looked surprised at her formal greeting. 

“Bucky.. the name is Bucky”

“I’m Alina.. It’s nice to meet you Bucky”

“Buck you weren’t at the meeting” Steve said

He seemed to give Steve a half smile.

“I was there for some of it”

Steve nodded and Bucky realised he was still holding onto the girl. He let go and she smiled at him. She appeared completely unsurprised or afraid by the situation and instead looked him over and then glanced back to Steve.

“I’ll explain tomorrow and Bucky now you have to turn up to the meeting” Steve laughed. The two seemed to know each other well. Bucky nodded and turned back to Alina. He smiled a little awkwardly at her before brushing past and continuing down the hall.

Alina did not ask nor mention a word of the situation and Steve and Sam liked the way she breezed through it as if it happened on a regular basis. After leaving her at her room, Sam turned to Steve. 

“She handled that surprisingly well. The girl has moxy” 

“Something tells me that when you work in her industry for so long and then spend two months on a completely different planet with the likes of Thor and Loki not much shocks you anymore” Steve smiled

 

 

Alina had been asleep only a few hours when her phone started ringing. She rolled over and picked it up groggily. 

“Mm?”

“It’s Fury. Time to get to work”


	16. Wasps and Autopsies

It was 10 o’clock the next morning and everyone was up and milling around the kitchen, except Alina. Even Loki was up humouring Thor by allowing him to show him a Midgardian Beverage called a ‘Pop Tart’. He reminded himself to hide them all in the future.

Tony and Steve were sipping coffee and talking to Sam and Rhodey and Natasha while Bruce and Clint were immersed in a discussion about the technology surrounding his Quiver and Bow. Bucky leant against the kitchen Island, listening to Steve and Tony bicker. 

“Anyone seen sparkles?” Tony asked, referring to Alina 

“Not since last night” Steve replied 

“Last night?” Tony replied, wiggling his eyebrows and smirking. Steve immediately blushed as Sam and Rhodey snorted into their drinks. 

As if almost on queue, JARVIS spoke. 

“Sir, Miss Everton is on her way up from the labs now” 

“What was she doing in her lab already?” Bruce asked, his head perking up 

As he spoke the elevator door dinged and Alina stepped out. Her hair was plastered to her face from the rain outside and she looked exhausted. Her black shirt was noticeably drenched in blood which spattered up her neck and there was a small cut at the top of her neck by her ear. Dirt was smudged up her fitted combat pants and stained her arms. She paused for a second and returned their gaze. 

“Long night” She said simply

“Uhh...we might need more of an explanation than that” Tony said 

“Are you ok?” Steve asked 

“I am not injured. Not my blood...some poor bastards. Fury called me in last night. Encountered some HYDRA activity, a body dump. Except they hadn’t quite finished vacating it”

“And why weren’t we called?” Clint asked 

“Seemingly unimportant. Low level activity and as I said, it was thought to be just a body dump. There were still a few HYDRA agents roaming when we got there. Two of their’s are dead and 4 fled the scene”

“And you just got in now?” Rhodey asked 

“Been doing autopsies all morning” she said, shivering slightly 

“Well that’s certainly not how we treat guests round here. I should have a word with Fury” Tony said

Alina smiled. 

“Contract. Anyway, I am going to take a shower and get changed and then I will be right out” 

“Don’t rush” Sam offered 

She laughed a little shaking her head and wiping some of the blood off of her neck before exiting down a corridor.

“Christ. What the hell does Fury think he’s playing at?” Tony asked 

“Lady Alina is not meant to be out of our supervision for too long.. She was attacked by the enemy” Thor said 

“Nice meatloaf, but we cant exactly control her” 

“It’s her job. She understands the risks” Natasha said simply 

Alina walked back in less than 10 minutes later, dressed in a black shield suit which clung to her. While making coffee she looked up at them. 

“What? Am I grounded now?” She grinned 

The tension in the room seemed to ease a little at her joke. 

“You shouldn’t have gone out last night?”

“Yeah well you can’t exactly say no to Fury. Anyway, briefing?” she asked 

“Yeah.. Right so the scepter” Steve began

Alina sat down next to Bucky. 

“Hey kid” she whispered 

“I should be calling you kid, I’m at least 65 years older than you” he smiled 

“Ok… hey grandpa” 

 

“You two done?” Tony asked 

“Grandad here was just telling me about living without electricity” She smirked

Tony choked on the sip of coffee he was taking and Loki snickered. She earned an eyeroll from Bucky who nodded to Steve to continue. 

“Anyway we had the scepter stolen when HYDRA infiltrated and took over SHIELD as you are well aware. We have been tracking the power from it with the help of Dr Erik Selvig and he has pinpointed its location to an ‘abandoned’ research facility in the jungle south west of Peru”

“Are we to locate and extract?” Natasha asked 

“No, they dont know we have caught on yet so we are leaving it a couple of days. See if they move it around and all that jazz… If they don’t we can assume it’s a rather permanent base and we’ll need all the manpower, and God power because meatloaf and reindeer games i’m looking to you, we can get to get in and out of there” Tony answered 

“So you gathered us all here at this ungodly time to tell us to wait a few days” Clint grumbled 

“We need everyone on call”

“I think Alina is way ahead of you all on that” Sam smiled 

“Speaking of which, if we are done here I have an autopsy to complete” she murmured, rising from her seat

“And training” Loki added 

“Ah ah ah not so fast christmas tree. We wanna run some tests first in our labs” Tony grinned 

Loki raised his eyebrows. 

“Very well but I will be present” 

Bruce shifted uncomfortably and Alina simply shook her head in disbelief at the already rising tensions between them. As she got up to leave, several other people also rose and began to walk behind her. She stopped and turned around slowly.

“May I help you?” she asked to the group 

“Just.. thought we should.. uh you know.. understand your work..” Steve began awkwardly 

“You want to come watch an autopsy? she asked with a close to sassy look 

“Since you asked us so nicely to” Tony winked 

Again, she shook her head and continued walking back towards the elevator. As they went to follow, Bucky managed to slip in before she could shut the door but she did cut everyone else out. 

“Take the next one” she said with a false sweetness 

As the elevator doors clicked shut she leant against the walls, her head back and her eyes closed. Bucky watched her quietly and she opened one eye to look at him. He continued to watch her but she did not seem to be unnerved by being in such a small space with him watching her so intently. He quite liked her calmness. 

“Congrats on being the chosen one” she half smiled 

He looked at her questioningly. 

“You made it to the elevator first” she shrugged, pushing herself off the wall as the elevator rolled open. 

He followed, entering her lab. It was a wide open space, a huge complex with white walls and floors. In the centre was a raised platform with steps up to it and a medical gurney type slab sitting in the middle. Around it sat trolleys with tools and on the slab was a body. To the far left on another raised platform was a desk with another slab and a skeleton and a laptop laid across it and on the far right down below were several computer stations and bio-medical and chemistry testing kits and stations where at least 10 different agents were working. They glanced up at her as she walked in and gave a nod and a smile. Bucky stopped and observed as Alina walked up the steps and onto the platform in the centre. She shrugged on a white lab coat and pulled her hair back into a low ponytail.   
Behind him, two elevator doors opened and the rest of the group stepped out. 

“Didn’t have a cheeky 50 shades of grey elevator session did ya?” Tony wiggled his eyebrows

Steve gave him a glare. Tony had convinced him and Bucky that 50 shades of grey was a modern take on the black and white films they were used to. It was not. They were horrified. They walked closer to the platform and Alina hit a button behind her. Immediately a glass box came down over the top of her and the platform. 

“Stops any toxins getting out. Or in the case the patient happens to not be.. uh deceased” she said with a smile. 

She began to dissect the man who had a slash to his throat and a gunshot wound to his chest. She poked and prodded the wounds, working for almost 20 minutes before Fury and Coulson entered with Agent Hill.

“She’s excellent isn’t she?” Coulson said

All eyes turned to him. Some looked at him with smirks, other’s with raised eyebrows. He immediately noticed his poor choice of words. 

“I mean.. uh well the way she works is precise and ethical and she is excellent at what she does that’s all” he attempted to redeem himself 

Fury climbed the stairs and rapped on the glass with his knuckles. In the middle of slicing the man’s stomach open, she looked up at him. He gestured down to the avengers and Coulson and Hill. She shrugged in response. 

“I can’t control them” she said 

“No this is good. It’s not often we can get them all misbehaving” 

She smiled and with her free hand shifted the face mask that was around her neck and went back to carefully slicing a cross in the man down his chest and stomach. Fury began to walk back down the steps when he heard the girl swear loudly and a clatter. He spun around to find she had dropped her scalpel and had backed up considerably. She made eye contact with him and her eyes were wide and concerned. The Avengers saw this and made their way to stand with Fury. Alina was watching the body carefully and in a matter of seconds, a swarm of wasp like insects pushed their way from the muscly mess of the stomach she had been dissecting. Quickly, she pulled her face mask over her mouth and backed in the corner, crouching with her arms in front of her head.   
As quickly as they came about, they dropped to the floor dead. With one gloved finger, Alina held one delicately on her fingertip as she stood up. She looked up at the group before placing the wasp like creature in glass casing. With a raised eyebrow, she went back to the autopsy and finished it within 15 minutes. Snapping her gloves off, she raised the glass and called over two agents who hastily started sweeping the wasps into glass containment units. 

“Time of death was between 8:25 and 8:45 last night after extensive torture. His throat was slit but he did not die from that. Cause of death was bleeding out from that bullet wound in his left shoulder.”

“Yes but what about the BEES” Tony grinned 

“Not bees, wasps. Sort of. It was encountered in 3 deceased humans after the Chitauri invasion of New York. All 3 had been touched or killed by the scepter. We believe they manifest over time in the deceased after exposure to the Scepter's killing power” Alina said

“You looked at the files?” Rhodey asked 

Fury shifted uncomfortably. 

“I am the files. I worked those cases for SHIELD” Alina replied evenly 

“I didn’t realise we were keeping secrets again” Steve said offhandedly 

Alina tossed the latex gloves in a bin and looked to Bruce.

“You wanted to run some tests, Dr Banner?”

“Yes yes Sorry, Right this way”

“The rest of you go do something productive” Fury lectured as Bruce, Tony, Alina and Loki made their way to an Elevator.

“Oh I am not going in this thing with him again” Tony said, sensing Bruce’s anxiousness at being enclosed with Loki after avoiding it the first time.

“You don’t trust me?” Loki smirked

“Why should he?” Steve asked as he walked past with Sam and Bucky in tow. Bucky’s expression stayed even as always but he was still curious to the fearless new girl. Sam glared at Loki but offered Alina a smile.

“Alright what floor is your lab?” Alina asked

“9” Tony asked

“I’ll take Loki then”

“We could just teleport” Loki remarked

“You know my magic isn’t quite up to that”

“Mine is”

“Yes but I dont think flashing magic around makes anyone trust you more” she said, walking into an elevator with him.

As the doors closed, he turned on her. 

“Do you trust me?” he said, towering over her 

“I do” she replied evenly

He ran a finger under her jaw, lifting her chin up. She raised her eyebrows at him. He smirked down at her in return, leaning in a little closer. She held her ground and he chuckled. So stubborn, he thought as the doors opened and she skirted around him fluidly. 

“Right Mr Stark, these tests?”

"Right this way Sparkles"


	17. Do you trust her?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the short and rather underwhelming chapter. I am relatively busy sorting out my student loan for University and Insurance for my flat! Thanks for reading :)

The tests came up as expected, apparently anyway. Her power was ten fold that of the scepter and came up clearly on their scans. After taking bloods and other basics, she was free to go and spent the afternoon and evening training with Loki.

“Do you trust her?” Tony asked Bruce

“For whatever reason, yes I do” he replied, looking over a sheet of test results 

“I’ve never seen this much power being contained in one person. It’s unprecedented” 

“And unusual. You don’t think Loki has anything to do with it” Bruce asked 

“Well he is teaching her. But the woman is smart so something tells me Loki hasn’t or won’t have much luck manipulating her. Besides, have you seen some of the work she’s done in decompositional properties and unidentified life forms?” Tony grinned 

“We looked at the files together” Bruce replied with furrowed eyebrows 

After a moment of silence Bruce looked up again. 

“How powerful do you think she can get?” he asked quietly 

“That’s the thing, it’s like she has no limit on it” 

“So we don’t know?” 

“We don’t know” 

//

“Do you trust her?” Clint grunted as he punched the bag 

Natasha paused from her own workout. 

“I don’t trust anyone” she replied 

“I mean, do you think she’ll go AWOL?” 

Natasha considered this for a moment, unwinding the tape from around her knuckles and tossing it to the side. 

“No. She knows where her assets and allies lay and her intentions are for the best”

“So you don’t think she’ll betray us?” 

“Are you asking because of Loki?” Natasha replied softly 

“She seems relatively close to him..” 

“Maybe but she recognises she needs him to continue building her power. We need him to continue doing that too. She’s no use to anyone if she can’t control her abilities. Besides, Loki seems… different” she paused 

“Yeah I know” 

“You don’t trust the girl?” Nat asked back

“It’s not her I don’t trust, I like her. It’s Loki” 

“Understandably” Natasha said before picking up her stuff and exiting the gym. 

//

“Do you trust her?” Sam queried 

Steve looked up at him with his hands under his chin. 

“Yes, I do”

“Well I don’t” Rhodey interjected 

“You should not speak of the Lady in such a way, she is pure of heart!” Thor bellowed from the kitchen 

“Yes and she is too close with your earth destroying brother” Rhodey replied back 

“Loki has been teaching the Lady for near 2 months now and has not displayed any signs of ill intention, otherwise I would not have allowed him in your proximity. I do not trust Loki, believe me on this. If he betrays me, I will kill him. Yet, Lady Alina is too calm and smart to fall for Loki’s trickery should he attempt it” 

Steve looked taken aback at Thor’s statement on killing his brother. 

“You trust Miss Everton?” Steve asked 

“I trust her as I trust my own Mother and Friends back on Asgard” 

 

Steve nodded. 

“Buck, Sam? What do you think?” 

“I like her. She’s talented and smart and powerful. I think we can and should trust her” Sam said with enthusiasm 

“You have no choice but to trust her” Thor remarked 

Steve looked at him questioningly. 

“She is the Universe’s most powerful being. If we do not put our faith in her, when the time comes, it is possible we will be completely at her mercy” 

“I see... Well I guess we shall see what she’s got when we retrieve the scepter” Steve replied 

“Bucky?” Sam asked 

“She’s lethal” he replied quietly 

Steve shot him a look somewhere between questioning and concerned. 

“The way she looks at things, it’s lethal. She knows what she’s doing in every movement she makes. Whatever training or experience she has, it has affected her greatly. Watch the way she moves, it has a precision to it that assassins and agents know. She’s not a stupid woman” he elaborated 

“But do you trust her?” Steve asked 

“I’d trust her with my life. You can see it in her eyes; she’s unwavering” 

“What are we to do?” Sam asked 

“She cannot be harmed. It would have dire consequences on the universe that you all are yet to understand” Thor rumbled 

“Train her. Trust her. Befriend her.” Steve said simply 

“And what if she betrays us? What if Loki turns her?” Rhodey asked suspiciously 

“He won’t” Bucky replied 

“What makes you so sure?” 

“He may try. But she won’t. She’s completely unwavering, nothing will change her values. I don’t know why, probably an event, but something has set them in stone” 

“We have little choice” Steve added 

“I still don’t like it” Rhodey answered 

“You don’t have to like it” Sam said 

//

“They are wary of you” Loki said as Alina once again shattered ice out from under her feet, this time reaching much further than before 

“And they completely distrust you. What do you expect?” She replied, smashing the ice with a twist of her foot. 

“I expected them to put a little bit more faith into you” 

“I didn’t. They’re not stupid. You destroyed half of New York with intentions to spread that destruction” 

“But you did not” 

“No but I spend a great deal of time with you. It is easy to see why that would raise suspicions” she shrugged, her eyes fading from an icy blue back to green. 

“You do not seem offended” 

“Why should I be? I would be distrustful of me if I were in their position” 

“You are powerful” 

“Power doesn’t equal trust or respect, Loki” 

He looked at her strangely. 

“Do you trust them?” 

“Yes. It is required. Too many things could go wrong if I did not trust them” 

“Strange woman” he mumbled 

“Strange God” she answered with a smile.


	18. Drinks

“So you have a book with things you’ve missed?” she smiled 

“Yeah, Important things. Pop culture you know?” 

“You must own several books of that then” she laughed 

They were sat on the sofa in the main living room. Alina had spent all day in the lab working but had left the tail end of it to the eager assistants. It had been 4 days since they first arrived and Loki had finally stopped tailing her everywhere she went. She had gained fast control over the space stone however was still unable to teleport properly but Loki put that down to lack of concentration. The day before, she had trained with Natasha who wanted to ensure she was physically fit enough to be enabled on missions. She had left satisfied Alina was more than able in the event of things going horribly wrong. Clint had watched the session and had been thoroughly impressed. The girl was lethal. 

“So… Fury said you worked those cases from New York?” 

“It was not by my choice” she replied with a small smile

“What…?” Steve’s voice seemed to change

“I didn’t have a choice in it. It’s… an interesting story”

“Tell all” Sam said with a smile

Bucky and Clint were listening intently. Loki was off in his room, Thor had gone back to Asgard to report, Rhodey and Tony were out together and Nat was off training.

“I worked for the NYPD for nearly a year, about a year and a half back now. I was an Investigator for them and I worked their forensics. We were on a call out one day, a homicide just before the Brooklyn district when the Chitauri.. well, you know.” 

“Yeah we know” Steve said softly 

“Anyway, we got a call back into New York City. They needed everyone and when we got there it was chaos already. People were dead across the street, those things, the Chitauri, they were shooting and stabbing venomously. We couldn’t stop them. Unless you got them with your shots right between the neck, the bullets simply scratched them. You know the rest of the story. When it was all over, we were moving bodies off the main streets, I was absolutely drenched in blood, my own and others. Fury gave me an ultimatum: work for SHIELD in the aftermath of the event or be imprisoned” 

“Why would he say that?” Clint asked 

“Because I already understood too much. I was already seeing the effects of foreign weapons on the human body. Being signed to SHIELD meant I was required to keep it a secret if you will. However if I was allowed to continue working as I wished, I could have opened my own investigation or stuck my nose places they didn’t want me” 

“So you were blackmailed?” Steve pointed out

“If you would like to put it like that” 

“Harsh… You seem to be in great demand” Sam said

She shrugged modestly. 

“I am sure the Earth’s Mightiest Heroes have it much worse” she chuckled 

“Without Loki trying to destroy the world, it’s been pretty quiet” Clint joked 

“If you ignore the complete fall and rebuilding of SHIELD” Steve quipped 

“Obviously I am ignoring that” Clint laughed 

“You boys aren’t harassing her are you?” Nat said, walking into the kitchen

“Not at all!” Sam exclaimed 

“I would never harass a Lady” Steve laughed 

“I have memories from the 40’s that say differently” Bucky said 

“I could say some similar things about you” he replied with a smile 

“Drinks boys?” Natasha yelled from the bar

“We’ve got some” Clint yelled back

“Alina?” She yelled 

“Got some thanks” 

“Course you all do. It’s only 6pm” she grumbled 

“Hey you were the one asking!” Clint shouted back

Natasha threw herself onto the sofa next to Clint and put her feet on the table, taking a sip of whatever concoction she had made up from Tony’s extensive Alcohol collection. 

“Shit” Clint swore as Natasha bumped him and he spilt some drink 

“Careful, Steve hates that kind of language” Natasha winked 

They spent the next hour taking the piss out of Steve and Bucky ended up having some valuable stories to tell about his youth which had them in hysterics. Steve was good humoured about it. Near 8 o’clock, Thor arrived back and joined the group. 

“How’s everything?” Alina asked him 

“Fandral asked me to pass along a message to you!” Thor exclaimed 

“Hmm?”

“He says he misses your sweet lips!” Thor grinned goofily 

Alina choked on the sip of Vodka she was drinking and burst out laughing. She had completely forgotten the quick kiss Fandral had sneaked in just before she left and she could almost guarantee it had been well over exaggerated to Thor from a quick peck goodbye to a passionate, heated kiss. 

“Who’s Fandral?” Sam asked 

“Ah he is a warrior of the Warriors Three on Asgard and my trusted friend!” Thor laughed 

“And whhy does he miss her lips” Clint drawled in a teenage girl voice

Alina was having trouble not bursting into laughter again. 

“What did he tell you Thor?” She asked, trying to keep a straight face

“That you shared a wonderful moment filled with passion!” 

The whole room lost it. Alina was crying tears of laughter. Maybe it was the alcohol a little bit but she’d never heard something so ridiculously exaggerated and funny in her life. Clint was gasping for breath and repeatedly hitting Natasha.

“Is that not what happened?” Thor asked once the laughter had died down

“No! No no no no. He kissed me goodbye, nothing more, nothing less. It was hardly a moment of intense passion” Alina said with the biggest grin on her face

Steve had a silly smile on his face and even Bucky’s lips were stretched into an amused smirk. 

“Sounds like something Steve would of said in the 40’s” Bucky snickered 

“I would not have!” Steve argued 

“I beg to differ” he smirked back 

“Aaaaannywaaaaaay who’s your lover boy?” Clint asked, leaning forward on his hands 

“No one. Definitely not Fandral” Alina laughed 

“No one! Oh please you liar!” Clint argued 

“Im serious!” Alina exclaimed 

“I call bullshit” Clint grinned 

“Call it all you like Clint” Natasha smiled 

“What, you’re not going to ask about MY love life” Clint pointed to Alina 

“I genuinely am not interested” she sassed 

“Well that’s just rude! What about Cap?” Clint asked 

She shook her head. 

“Don’t care” 

“Sam” 

Another shaken head. 

“Uhh Natasha?”

“I don’t care who any of you are sleeping with” she grinned 

“Gooooddddd you are NO fun” he complained 

“Guess I never learnt how to gossip” she shrugged 

“This is why we don't let Clint drink” Natasha laughed 

The environment felt warm and friendly. They sat around laughing at one another and many stories came up. Alina contributed some hilarious tales from Asgard and from her work in the past and Steve and Bucky bounced back and forth about the 1940’s and the antics they got up to. Natasha and Clint told stories of missions they’d been on that had gone hilarious and Natasha even spilled one on Fury having to pretend to be her father. At half past nine, Loki came and joined but the atmosphere still did not spoil. Loki actually contributed, telling a hysterical tale of dressing Thor up as a woman in order to get Mjolnir back from the enemy. Soon, Rhodey and Tony joined them, already quite drunk from a night out. By midnight, everyone except Steve, Bucky, Thor and Loki were completely intoxicated after drinking for a good 5 hours. Bruce was slightly tipsy after joining just before Tony and Rhodey but he was fully capable of making it to his rooms unaided. Steve and Bucky helped Natasha and Clint and Sam to their rooms while Thor threw both Rhodey and Tony over his shoulders as they giggled madly. Loki nodded to Thor and pulled Alina to her feet, she laughed at him and fell against his chest. He stood for a second before she righted herself and began gliding off towards her rooms. He rolled his eyes a little and followed her. 

The entire walk down the corridors were actually ok. She seemed to keep herself well balanced but he figured that had a lot to do with the grace and balance she already possessed. He grinned as she turned around with a little sparkle in her eye. It was the same look she had given him that day in Asgard when she had trapped him in her shields. He raised an eyebrow at her and she flashed her eyes blue, twisting a foot and freezing him in his place by his feet. He chuckled and promptly smashed the ice. She cocked her head a little at this and the shrugged, continuing her walk. Along the way, she would throw little surprise attacks at him or block his progress completely by throwing a shield in his way. Each time she would appear incredibly amused by it. As they reached her door, she was laughing and in her haste, she turned around straight into his chest. He put his hands gently on her hips to steady her. 

“Night Loki” she breathed against his collar 

Delicately, he pressed his lips against her hair. 

“Goodnight Alina” he said

She pulled back with a warm smile and backed into her door, pulling it open when reaching behind her and disappearing. 

Loki stood outside with an amused grin on his face. Her silly drunkenness was not clumsy like the man of iron, it was mischievous. She still retained her even charm. He laughed a little walking away to his own quarters, the feeling of her breath on his collar still fresh in his mind.


	19. Hangovers and Company

The hangovers the next morning were lethal. Tony had it particularly bad but no one felt any sympathy for him. Pepper was pretty much 95% of his impulse control and since she was away on a business trip running HIS company, he was free to drink far more than he knew he could handle. Alina had left early in the morning at Fury’s request, out on call. She too was incredibly hungover but Fury was not having a bar of it. 

“I am not doing anything today” Tony groaned into his coffee 

Steve laughed at him and Loki and Thor shared a look. The brothers seemed to be getting along much better now that they were no longer on Asgard. 

“Stop laughing” Tony moaned 

“It’s not our fault you drink too much” Natasha said 

“You’re hungover too” he pointed out

“Not as bad as you are” she replied

After a few moments of quiet, Tony perked his head up and looked at Loki. Loki raised an eyebrow in return. 

“You know what would be interesting?” Tony began 

The whole group groaned. 

“No no hear me out” Tony said “You’re the God of lies right?” 

“Yes, among many other things” Loki replied 

“We should play truth or dare” Tony said 

“Why?” Sam asked 

“Because… God of Lie.. you couldn’t cheat the game when he’s around!”

“I cannot explicitly tell whether someone is lying or not. It is harder to lie to me but it isn’t a tell all” Loki rolled his eyes

“Aw damn” Tony said, disappointed 

Another few moments passed and he looked back up again. 

“But it could be fun” 

“No” Natasha, Clint and Steve said simultaneously 

“What is this game of lies?” Thor asked 

“It’s where you pick a person and you get to ask ‘Truth or dare’ and if they pick truth you get to ask them a question and if they pick dare, you get to make up something they have to do” 

“I like this game” Thor grinned 

“No!” the group said again 

“Is it dangerous?” Thor asked, puzzled 

“Only with tony” Natasha answered 

“Everything is dangerous with Tony around” a voice said from the elevator

They turned around. Pepper stood there smiling, her bags in her hands. Tony waltzed over to her, taking her bags and tossing them on the floor before hugging her. 

“You’re home early!” 

“The trip was cut short because surprisingly, everything went well” 

“Yay!” Tony grinned 

“I see we have company” She said, her eyes gazing over the group

“Uh.. yeah um long story” Tony began

“JARVIS briefed me on the way up” she smiled

“Thank you JARVIS” Tony said, relieved 

“You are quite welcome sir” 

“LADY PEPPER! A joyous occasion it is to see you!” Thor grinned   
“Nice to see you too Thor” she smiled at the God

She didn’t question Loki, she simply raised an eyebrow and continued opening some files. After the appropriate greetings, they went back to drinking their coffee and Thor once again making Pop tarts, much to Tony’s disapproval. 

“Im going to have to buy the company” he grumbled 

Pepper pursed her lips. 

“Where’s Miss Everton?” She asked 

“Ah out on call with SHIELD” Steve answered 

“You know her?” Tony asked curiously 

“I know of her. She was part of our security intel on my trip to London that went horribly wrong last year if you remember” she said 

“The hostage one?” he asked, disapprovingly 

“Yes that one. Poor thing” Pepper replied

“What?” 

“She was part of the team that got us out of there but it wasn’t pretty. Quite a few people died but you guys dont really watch the news” she said softly 

The conversation died out after that and they went back to mumbled conversation over coffee and brunch food. Pepper had to stop Tony from drinking alcohol twice in the space of an hour. His excuse was you can’t have a hangover if you stay drunk. She thoroughly disagreed. 

“Sir, a call is coming through from Director Fury” JARVIS spoke over their chewing 

“Ehhhhhh” Tony said

“Put it through” Steve countered with an eye roll 

“Avengers?” A voice came through the speakers

“Hey Fury why are you bothering us?”

“Just checking in to see how you’re all doing?” he said with feigned innocence

“So you’re checking to make sure we haven’t destroyed anything essentially” Rhodey answered   
“Not at all! Anyway, I am sending Dr Selvig up to you in about 15 minutes and Miss Foster will be accompanying him” he said 

“Jane!?” Thor said through a muffled mouth full of strawberry pop tarts 

“Yes Jane. Look after them, we need them” Fury lectured before hanging up 

For the next five minutes, Thor practically bounced with excitement. Pepper excused herself to go for a shower and told the group explicitly not to let Tony drink anything alcoholic while she was gone.   
The elevator door dinged and Jane and Erik stepped out, immersed in conversation about last year’s convergence and the research they had been doing on alien energy and power sources and their implications. 

“Jane?!” Thor grinned 

Jane looked up. 

“Thor?” She said incredulously 

She walked up to him and as he went to kiss her, she slapped him hard. The room erupted into snickers. 

“Jane?” Thor asked 

“Would you stop leaving and telling me you’re coming back but not saying when! This is the second time now!” 

“I’m sorry but the..”

“Yes the nine realms needed you, I get it” she huffed 

Looking around Thor, she waved at everyone. Then her eyes fell on Loki. 

“Is he.. Isn’t he? Thor what the hell?” She asked 

“Your brother?” Erik asked 

“Please, Loki is here for beneficial reasons this time” Thor pleaded 

“Or so he says” Tony quipped 

“Hello again Jane” Loki grinned

She glared daggers at him. 

“Why?” Erik asked 

“The infinity stones” Thor answered 

“You mean.. he has?” Erik’s eyes widened 

“No, someone else has them but Loki is teaching them the necessary control” 

“This individual.. does he.. is he dangerous?” Erik asked cautiously 

“No SHE is not” Bruce replied from his seat 

“Do we have location?” Erik asked 

“She’s at work. She’ll be home later. We’ve already run the necessary basic tests on her and everything came back as expected. Incredible source of near infinite power, increased metabolic elements, magic, all that” Tony answered

“Is he necessary though” Erik asked, pointing to Loki who looked to the ceiling in exasperation 

“Yes, Yes I am” he replied 

“She is an Asgardian then?” Jane asked 

“No, a Midgardian, a mortal” Thor said 

“How? Even we understand power like that is hard to contain” Erik said

“Her bloodline is believed to be traced back to an ancient race capable of wielding the stones” Thor answered 

“Who is she?” Jane asked 

“Alina Everton” Clint answered 

“You mean Dr. Alina Everton?” Jane asked knowingly 

“Uh yeah.. her” Tony said 

“No way...:” Jane said

“Does everyone else know about her BUT us?” Steve asked no one in particular 

“She’s well known in the science industry” Jane replied 

“Indeed. Groundbreaking research in the biomedical forensic pathology fields. She worked with your Dr. Cho to form the cradle machine. She drew up the original scientific blueprints to have muscle self heal itself at a rate 10 time faster than normal, it was groundbreaking” Erik informed them 

“And I don’t know about this.. because…?” Tony asked 

“She’s known to keep to herself. When it came to light, she didn’t really take much credit for it. I mean, people knew she had been one of the original designers but she never really flaunted it on a n international scale or used the technology like Dr. Cho did” 

“And she has an Infinity gem?” Jane asked 

“Two of them” Loki said

“Two!” Erik sounded excited 

“She is not a show pony” Loki growled 

“Of course of course “ Erik assured nervously 

The discussion tapered out and Jane and Thor were attached at the hip the entire time. Loki rolled his eyes at them so much he could have sworn he saw the back of his own head. Thor seemed to notice this after a while and him and Jane wandered off onto the balcony, pleading some alone time. 

“You brought your damn brother?” she whispered 

“I had no choice. He is a great asset” 

“And how do you know he won’t turn on us!” 

“He betrays us and I will kill him” 

“But you won’t because now we need him. He’s the only one who understands both magic and the stones enough to help Dr Everton control them” she growled 

“Maybe. But he will not betray us. I can see it”

“Just like you saw it the first time?” She growled 

Thor looked slightly taken aback at this. Jane sighed. 

“I’m sorry. But New York and New Mexico? And you think after both of those he isn’t going to try anything?” 

“Something has changed with my brother. I do not know what” Thor replied   
“And you’re sure he won’t turn on us?” 

“I am almost positive, Jane.” 

“I trust you” 

“Thank you”

“But I do not trust Loki”


	20. Scepter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I based the man in the suit off of BBC Sherlock's character, Moriarty. Just for reference :)
> 
> I obviously do not own the character, or any of these characters for that matter.

Jane and Erik had insisted on taking the same tests which Tony and Bruce had done less than a week before. In her usual fashion, Alina sat through them patiently. Jane was fascinated by her abilities and requested over and over again for her to repeat movements or clothing changes or to bring up shields and pull them down again. Unlike Bruce and Tony, Jane and Erik spent an entire day doing this.

It was 3 o’clock in the afternoon by the time they finished and much to Alina’s disappointment Steve called them in for a briefing. 

“Right, We leave for Peru tonight” he said 

“Permanent base?” Nat asked 

“We’re almost certain of it now. Which means, Alina we are going to need you out there with us” 

She just nodded in response. Loki glanced at her curiously. 

“And Loki… you too” Steve sounded strained at the decision 

Loki shrugged and leaned back into the couch. Steve went on to explain the location, weaponry and people they may encounter and emergency protocols should they be seen or captured by HYDRA forces. He also spoke about the Scepter and where it would be and how to avoid being touched by it. Once it was over they stood up to gather their gear. 

“You have half an hour. Be back here by 5:00” Steve said 

As everyone else left, Sam leaned over to Steve. Bucky, Sam and Steve were already ready to go. 

“Do you think she’s ready to go in?” Sam asked quietly, Loki had not allowed them to watch her training so the full extent of her capabilities was relatively unknown to them.

“I hate to say this, but we have to trust Loki.. and Thor when they claim she is powerful. Failing that, she is excellent with hand to hand combat from what Nat has been telling me and she’s been trained in firearms since she began working for the police” Steve replied 

“And if she gets killed?” Bucky asked harshly 

“We cannot let that happen” Thor said, walking in with Mjolnir after saying goodbye to Jane and Erik who were staying at the Tower. 

“You know Thor, you’ve been rather vague about this whole thing” Steve said

“She must not die.” Thor said simply 

“We don’t plan on letting her” Sam answered 

Slowly, people began to trail into the room. Alina and Tony walked in last. 

“Ta da!” Tony said, gesturing to Alina. He had revamped her cat suit a little. While still clinging to her body, it now featured knee high leather boots and patches of dark forest green. Her hands were cloaked in fingerless gloves and a hood fell onto the back of her shoulders and neck. 

Alina rolled her eyes at Tony. 

“I thought we should make a few changes ya know?” Tony grinned 

“It looks.. good” Sam said 

Again, Alina rolled her eyes. 

“Are we ready to go?” 

Steve nodded and one by one they trailed out to the quinjet. The flight was going to be a good 12 hours even at their speed, so they settled in. Hill was flying for a while so Clint could take a nap and Alina sat in the Copilots set the entire flight, watching intently out the windows. She remained quiet, even when conversation erupted in between luls. They forgot about her until she spoke as they approached Peru. They were coming in over the city of Lima which stood in early afternoon light. Below, people were hardly identifiable and moved in droves through the main market. High rises and hotels took dominance in the city center where as the suburbs went out and out from houses to apartments and flats. 

“We’re coming in over Lima now” she said quietly 

They looked up and Steve approached the cockpit. 

“How far out?” He asked Agent Hill 

“40 Minutes tops” she replied, not taking her eyes off the sky in front of her. 

Steve nodded and gestured to Alina, who stood up and followed him with her hands clasped behind her back. 

“Right I know we have discussed the plan already but we are 40 minutes out as most and I need to go over a few things. Firstly, this is primarily stealth up until our breaking and entering since it is almost certain we will be recognised. Everyone except Alina that is. They are unlikely to recognise you at all due to your lack of news coverage and lack of major work with SHIELD- documented work that is. Which means you have the best chance of getting to the Scepter unidentified. If we have to break, I want you to go straight to the south wing end where Dr. Selvig pinpointed the energy. Get the scepter, and get out. Otherwise, whomever encounters the wing first, same deal. Protect whoever has the Scepter and get out ASAP.”

“Roger Roger Captain” Tony grinned at his own pun

“Thor, Bucky, and myself will have the most strength factor so we’ll take care of any of the big guys. Tony and Rhodey, get down any shields or tech that they have defending themselves and take out any big weaponry that could harm the Quinjet. Sam, Loki and Nat and Clint, you guys have the surprise factor. They won’t be expecting you so use it to your advantage and take them out quickly. Bruce will be here in case anyone gets injured badly and Hill will have the jet stalled for a quick getaway. Once we have the scepter, everyone get out of there regardless of anything you might see or find” 

They all nodded. 

“We’re coming in hot” Hill said as she turned on stealth, causing the jet to become invisible and landed 500m away from the base under the cover of the dense. The jet landed with a small bump as it put down it’s gears and the team got ready to go. Clint packed more arrows into his waistband and shoes, Natasha, Alina, Bucky and Sam loaded their guns, Tony and Rhodey psyched up their suits and Thor and Loki stood ready to go. Bruce was already prepping the medical bay after Clint got hit last time, he’d learned to do it beforehand. 

“let’s go” 

The jet opened and they jumped out lightly, immediately seeking trees for cover. They crept from tree to tree until they were only 100 meters from the entrance of the base. There were 3 guards, heavily armed outside of the main hangar like door but there did not appear to be any shields up. Tony ran a scan. 

“Nah. No shield systems, the gate is key carded. The guy on the left has a card to it.” He said through their earpieces.

“Let’s go” Steve said 

In seconds, Tony and Rhodey flew at the 3 guards, shooting them down. The team approached forward, Natasha swiping the key card and entering. Alarms began blaring, no doubt there were high vision cameras which had caught the entire thing. Once inside, chaos ensued. They were charged by at least 30 armed guards and almost immediately, they were split from one another down separate corridors. Tony and Rhodey were flying around the base taking down any of the fighter guns they had and disabling their jet hangers. Loki, Thor, Natasha, Clint ended up going down one corridor where as Steve, Bucky, Sam and Alina went down the other. They were met by another round of guards. Alina flicked up her hood,covering the top part of her face. 

“Leave this to me, Boys” she said, stepping out from behind the corridor wall 

The guards opened fire on her, Sam jolted out to knock her out of the way but Steve held him back. Alina set her eyes aglow and raised a shield, the bullets pelted against it to no avail. Steve, Bucky and Sam stepped out next to her. She gave them a half grin. 

“On three I drop this Shield so you best be ready” 

“Yes ma’am” Steve said

“1… 2…….3” she yelled, the Shield dropped and she conjured up energy daggers, killing at least 7 men in one go. Steve raised his shield and him and Bucky fought several guys out of the way at once while Sam flipped over their heads and kicked two men square in the chest. Alina pulled a gun from her holster and shot down 3 more and flipped, taking her legs around a man’s neck and throwing him to the ground. Surrounded by dead and unconscious soldiers, she stood and glanced at their uniforms. In a glimmer, she changed into the black outfits the HYDRA soldiers were wearing, returned her eyes to green and winked before slipping off down a separate corridor. 

The three men moved forward down a corridor, but every fresh group of soldiers they encountered had already been taken down and were strewn unconscious across the halls.  
Sam looked to Steve with an amused look. 

“Loki has been hiding her from us” 

“As long as we get the scepter, I dont care” Steve shrugged 

About 3 corridors, they caught up with Alina who was finishing off another squadron and shooting out the security systems as she went. She shrugged her shoulders, tensing and untensing. 

“Nice to see you’ve caught up. Although I feel maybe the two old men are holding you back, Sam” she smiled 

The large metal doors in front of her slid open and revealed a wide open space. They walked through to be met by the separated group. The door slid shut behind them. As they walked to join the others, they looked around to see they were standing in the middle of what seemed to be a large circular intersection between doors. As they looked around there were 5 sets of sliding metal double doors and above them, a balcony that circled all the way around. A voice sounded from the balcony, similar to a metal catwalk. 

“Impressive” The voice was odd, drawling and pitched. Accompanied with the sound of shoes on the metal it became particularly ominous. Their heads snapped up. On the catwalk, accompanied by two heavily armed guards was a man dressed in a dark suit. His hair was slicked backwards and his eyes were dark brown to the point of blackness. He stood with his hands in his pockets and a small smirk on his face. 

“Really it is impressive” he continued “I mean you had to bring everyone you had but still.. you got through my men very quickly and relatively uninjured. I am impressed”

“Who are you?” Tony asked, him and Rhodey must have followed the other group. 

“Oh really that is unimportant” he drawled out 

“Not to us it isn’t” Steve spoke 

“Ooooh it is the man out of his time.. Caapptaain America!” he said, he sounded bored and slightly psychopathic 

“Who are you?” Sam asked 

The man ignored the question. 

“The Avengers! How.. quaint.. Saving the world as if there is anything left to save! New members I see.” 

“Where’s the Scepter?” Natasha asked 

“Oh that old thing. I don’t need it.. yet..” he glanced at Alina very quickly “You can take it” he continued, reverting his eyes back to the group 

“Then where is it” Tony said pointedly. 

“Where you always thought it was!” The man suddenly yelled 

They jumped at his sudden change in mood and persona. 

“The southern wing” he shrugged, speaking normally 

“Well, we’ll be on our way then” Tony smiled 

“If you can get it and get out of here before you die” the man laughed 

The roof above them opened and a jet lowered itself. The man was hoisted into it and it quickly left, the roof closing over it. 

“Destroy the place” he said to the pilot 

Inside, a rumbling occurred, blasts went off from further down the corridors. 

“He’s collapsing the place with us in it” Rhodey said

“Get the scepter. Everyone else, find ways out. We’ll meet back at the Quinjet. NOW GO!” Steve said, nodding to Alina, Bucky and himself who took off at a sprint down towards the southern end. Tony and Rhodey took Clint and Natasha, smashing through the gap Thor had made with Mjolnir in the ceiling while grabbing Sam. Loki apparated out of the room. Meanwhile, Alina, Steve and Bucky kept running, avoiding falling ceilings and lighting, they skidded around corners and Alina reverted her clothing to the original suit Tony had given her. Approaching a heavily armoured door, they skidded to a stop. Steve and Bucky both attempted smashing through it to no avail. To the side, Alina began fiddling with the keypad and within minutes the door peeled back it’s armour and opened. Instantly, the men inside opened fire on them. 

While Bucky and Steve dealt with them, Alina slipped past and headed for the Scepter which was sat in a podium in the middle of the room. As she approached it, more men attacked. There was too much going on at once and she knew it. The building was on the verge of collapsing over their heads and her magic was only just preventing it, but not for long. 

“Steve, Bucky you need to get out, I can only hold the building up for so long!” 

Steve looked across at her. 

“We’re not leaving you!” 

“Go, I have the Scepter! Draw the men out with you, I can keep the ceilings up while you get out!” she shouted over the crunching and grinding of the building 

Steve hesitated before looking at Bucky and nodding. They ran towards the door, drawing the soldiers with them. Bucky took one last look at the girl, who was disposing of several men to get to the scepter, before taking off down the corridor with Steve. 

Alina reached to grab the scepter but two men managed to get arms around her. She kicked out, slashing one’s throat and delivering a fatal blow to the other man’s head. She stumbled, her strength was draining fast and she knew that Steve and Bucky wouldn’t be out yet. The coms were out on her end and she could no longer hear Tony or Steve over them. Quickly, she calculated how long it would take them to get from here to the entrance. 1 more minute until they should be cleared. She kept fighting forward towards the Scepter, blasting men out of her way with energy waves and daggers. 

9, 8, 7, 6 ,5 ,4, 3… 2….1 

She gasped and let go of the control she had on the building. It began groaning and creaking wildly and suddenly ,everything came crashing down. The ceiling’s fell in, the walls collapsed down into piles of rubble. A piece of concrete roofing came down on her and she was knocked to ground not a meter from the scepter, clean unconscious. 

Steve and Bucky had not put more than a foot out of the building before it began to collapse behind them. The rest of the team were stood on the grass, exhausted and covered in cuts. They looked up at the pair and realisation dawned on them. 

“Where is Lady Alina?” Thor rumbled 

Steve told them what had happened. Loki’s face turned whiter than it already was, both Clint and Sam looked devastated. Bucky ran his hands through his hair and punched a nearby tree hard enough to split it. 

“And the scepter?” Tony asked 

“In there with her..” 

“Shit” 

//  
Inside, Alina came to gently. Her vision was blurred and she felt dizzy and sick. Luckily, concrete had fallen around her, stopping the larger pieces from smashing into her and killing her. To the side, she saw the scepter also lying under the rubble; it was smashed. A golden liquid sat around it. As she watched with blurry eyes, it began to form up and slide towards her. Less than a second later, it had disappeared into her and she fell back into the bliss that came with unconsciousness.  
//

“This was what was the southern wing” Steve said desperately, looking at the pile of rubble.  
They stood in front of it, overwhelmed by the amount of concrete, dirt and dust they were facing.  
Bucky and Thor began to rip away pieces of rubble in a frenzy while Steve, Rhodey and Tony started at the opposite end. Loki was trying to use his magic to search for any signs of Alina’s countering magic but the extensive rubble was interfering. Sam, Nat and Clint began surveying the rubble, looking for any signs of life, movement or the Scepter.  
5 minutes went by, then 10, then 15. Bucky had strayed from the group and was situated on the middle section, tearing away bits of rubble and tossing them further away. Suddenly he stopped. 

“I.. I..” he began 

“Buck..?” Steve said gently 

Bucky suddenly began to tear apart the rubble faster than before, throwing the pieces behind him without looking.

“I’ve got her! I’ve got her!” he said, pulling a figure out from the debris

Steve scrambled and slipped across the rubble, checking her pulse immediately. 

“She’s alive” he sighed, looking down at her face. She was covered in dust and dirt and there was blood covering half of her features. Her suit had a number of tears in it, one looked to have some sort of wound which was oozing blood. Bucky picked her up as Tony sifted more rubble to find the scepter. 

“It’s smashed” he held it up to the team

“The power source is gone” Loki said

“What?” Tony asked 

“Can we explain this later?” Steve asked, indicating to an unconscious Alina. 

Boarding the ship, Bruce looked up and his features were immediately covered with concern as he saw Bucky carrying a bloody and limp girl in his arms. He lied her down on the medical table and Bruce set to work instantly, not even bothering to ask what had happened.  
After 10 minutes, Loki came and looked over his shoulder. 

“Will she be alright?” 

A few team members looked up, curious. They had never heard the god’s voice so concerned, it was even on the brink of panicky. Of course they were all worried about their newest team member but it was not something they expected of Loki. 

“She should be fine. There are no broken bones, she’s very lucky. However it looks like some sort of blast has hit her in the side here so she’s going to need stabilizing. In fact, Tony call Dr Cho in will you?” 

“Roger” Tony said 

“Yeah?” Steve answered 

Tony glared at him. 

“Not you, old man” 

Steve was too tense to respond. He had almost been responsible for the girl's death. He had made the decision to leave her there instead of staying. Beside him, Bucky was watching Bruce workover Alina with unwavering eyes. They had both watched people die during the war but neither of them had been directly responsible for the deaths. 

Thor put a hand on Loki’s shoulder. 

“Brother, she will be ok” 

Loki looked to Thor and back to Alina before nodding and taking a seat. Natasha was used to seeing this sort of thing happen. At least, it happened a lot in her past. There were too many things to think over. The base had almost been too easy to get into and that man was strange.. he had allowed them to take the scepter. She glanced over to the empty shell that was the scepter. Clint followed her gaze before pursing his lips. 

“What happens to that now?” 

Tony looked up. 

“I had Jarvis run scans on it and it’s nothing more than an empty piece of junk metal now” 

“What was powering it then?” Bruce asked, adjusting Alina’s drip. 

“The Mind Gem” Thor answered 

“Another Infinity Stone?” Sam asked 

“The third we have come across in a matter of 4 months” Thor answered 

“Well if it’s not in the Scepter any longer, where is it?” Natasha asked, already forming another mission in mind. 

“I fear…” Loki trailed off, looking to Alina 

“You’re not suggesting..?” Steve asked

“That she possess the mind stone, a third infinity gem. Yes I am. We can’t know until she awakens and demonstrates use of it” Loki replied heavily 

“About that, you did not tell us what she could do” Steve said

“She took out guards in seconds, her shields were all but impenetrable, she froze men in their spots and kept a building from collapsing” Bucky said 

“It is better to not over exaggerate her abilities to you. Too much may have been expected, more than her capabilities. Holding the building in place drained her of most of her energy” Loki replied 

“And if she has this gem? Then what?” Rhodey asked 

“I don’t know.” he said, looking back towards Alina’s unconscious form


	21. Awake, Asleep

Alina came to groggily. The room was spinning and all she could process through a pounding head were bright lights above her. Her mind began processing where she could be. Who dragged her out of the rubble? It could have been that strange man and this could be HYDRA or perhaps she was back on Asgard at the hands of Loki and Thor. The latter seemed like a more pleasant option at this point. She feigned unconsciousness as a door opened and someone walked in, adjusting a machine above her. The light footsteps indicated either a small woman or a well trained agent. As she felt the person turn, Alina opened her eyes to take a look. Immediately she recognised the woman standing with her back to her. It was Dr. Cho. A quick look around her allowed her to see she was definitely in SHIELD’s hands and not HYDRA’s or any other opposing agency. Declaring it safe, she groaned. 

“Hello Dr Cho” 

The woman whipped around and looked at her and then immediately back at her notes, reading over them quickly. 

“Hello Dr. Everton. How do you feel?” 

“Sore” she answered bluntly, shifting her position 

“So you should be. I need to call in the avengers but I’ll talk to you soon. Don’t move” she warned before hurrying out of the room

Alina stared up at the fluorescent lights on the ceiling and felt herself drifting again. When she came to again, she didn’t know how long it had been but she could hear the avengers voices around her, as well as Dr. Cho’s. 

“Are you sure she was awake?” Thor asked 

“Certain. She spoke to me” Dr. Cho answered 

Alina moaned a little and opened her eyes. 

“I was awake” she said

Loki’s face appeared above her, peering down. He looked incredibly concerned, more than she had ever seen him before. His eyebrows were furrowed in worry and his lips pursed as he touched her forehead gently. 

“We thought the contraption maybe would not work” he said, stepping back a little 

She looked up properly. The cradle, she mused. 

“You used the cradle on me?” 

“You had a wound to your side which was a result of some new weaponry Hydra had acquired, it needed immediate healing when they brought you in” Dr Cho answered 

“Good to see you’re awake kid” Tony said 

“Casualties?” she asked immediately

“Just you and an entire HYDRA base” Steve chuckled 

“Good” she mumbled 

“Not good you almost got yourself killed” Clint said 

“It’s my job, Katniss” Alina replied 

Clint looked mildly amused and Bucky smirked. Both Steve and Bucky had just finished the Hunger Games movies a month back. 

“What’s the prognosis Doc?” Tony asked 

“The wound in her side has healed completely, as well as other scratches and bruises on her. The only thing now would be the concussion but considering her time unconscious and uh.. abilities it seems her body is recovering from it quite quickly” 

“How long have I been out?” 

“Almost 2 days” Bucky answered 

“Shit” 

“Yeah well next time don’t take down an entire base” Sam joked 

Thor frowned a little and Loki tensed up. Steve looked to them and back to Alina. 

“Uh about the Scepter..” He began

“I already know. It’s a recurring thing it seems” Alina answered 

“What?” Thor said sharply

“I assume another Infinity Gem was in it. When the building came down, I was knocked out instantly but I came to for a little while and the Scepter was smashed. There was a golden liquid coming from it.. and well..” 

“You..?” Natasha began, not entirely sure where she was going with her statement 

“Perhaps the gems are drawn to each other. Either way, this is the 2nd time now” Alina said 

Bruce was looking over his notes when he glanced up over his glasses and approached her, leaning against the cradle. 

“Uh how do you feel?” he asked, referring to the gems 

“If you are referencing the gem then I don't know and I would prefer not to try and use any magic when I am in this state of lack of control” she answered evenly, her tone a little darker than before. 

“Of course Of course..” Bruce said 

Alina sat up and squeezed her eyes a little, still getting used to the light around her. She had been out 2 days but it only felt like minutes since the building had come down on her. She remembered nothing in between. 

“How did I get here?” 

“I pulled you out” Bucky said. She looked at him with her head tilted and a tired look on her face. 

“Thank you” she said quietly 

“Well we couldn’t leave you in there” Tony joked 

“Don’t move too fast, you were hit pretty bad” Natasha said 

Alina’s thoughts were distracted, however, as memories came back from the mission. The strange man who had looked straight into her soul as he let them have that scepter. He knew. Or he knew more than most. He was crazy yet so intriguing and he had enough information to know about the stones. The fact that he had knowledge of the stones was enough already but the manner in which he spoke, how he moved, everything seemed planned. She had no doubt in her mind that she at least, would see that man again and she desired to know as much as she could about him before she did. There was something very dangerous about his confidence in the things he said on that catwalk. 

 

“What about that suited man from the base?” she asked 

Steve looked up from his seat and sighed. The rest of the team looked equally as exasperated. 

“We don’t know” Rhodey answered 

“What do you mean?” 

“I had Jarvis search him on our facial recognition systems, nothing. Fury looked through the databases, nothing. We even went through all our old paper files right back to the 40’s and still nothing. We can’t find a trace of him anywhere” Tony answered 

“He’s not enhanced is he?” Alina asked 

“No. I had JARVIS run scans while he was speaking and he is definitely human and exhibits no signs of enhanced.” 

“We also checked all HYDRA files we had acquired and there is no record of him anywhere, not even in the experiments” Steve said

“And we don’t even have a name to check with underground groups” Natasha added 

“I don’t remember ever seeing him either” Bucky inputted 

“We will see him again. The man is dangerous and planning something” Alina said

“What makes you so sure?” Steve asked 

Alina looked up at him, meeting his eyes with a even look. 

“When he spoke telling us we could take the Scepter, he said he didn’t need it ‘yet’. As in he would need it later. If however, he did need it later why would he allow us to take it. Why not just keep it in his possession until it was needed?” 

“He knows” Loki said

“You think the strange mortal knows of the stones?” Thor asked 

“He looked to Alina very briefly when he spoke of not needing it” Loki mused 

“You think he knew what would happen?” Clint asked 

“It’s a possibility. Although it may have simply been coincidence that he looked at her while speaking. Either way, the mortal man’s actions were strange” Loki replied

“There’s not much we can do. I have tracked down old ties and none of them recognise him. All we have to go on is a description” Natasha said

“What do we do?” Sam asked 

“We get back to work” Alina said, dismounting from the cradle and standing up straight, stretching before going to walk out. Steve grabbed her by the arm. 

“You are not going back to work” 

Alina rolled her eyes at him. 

“I am fine” 

“You need to rest” Bucky added 

“I’ve had worse” she smiled 

“Either way, I need to borrow you” Loki said. Alina raised an eyebrow at him and he pursed his lips into a small smile. It was a little forced as he was still tense from worrying about her. He had never felt such intense anxiousness over anyone ever. As they’d brought her in the mortal doctor immediately began yelling commands, machines had been hooked up to her. She had looked terrible covered in dirt and blood. He knew she would be fine, it was nothing more than a mediocre wound and a few cuts and bruises but it still ignited a fire fueled by worry and by a need for revenge on the man who had put her in that position. The strange suited man who had changed his mood so quickly and had eyes as dark as night. 

“And what for?” Clint asked protectively. He had come to see the young woman as more of a sister to him than anything else. He had spent limited time with her but her selflessness on the field and her clear, level headedness was undeniable. He would be damned if he let anyone hurt her, just like he’d be damned if anyone laid a finger on Nat or Laura. 

“I need to assess her abilities. It is possible they may have changed drastically” Loki eyed him 

“You hid them from us before. We need to know what she can do” Steve said firmly 

“This time, it is more of a safety measure. I am unsure of how much control she may have gained or lost or what effects the Mind Stone may have on her.” 

“My brother is right. The stones can be unpredictable when coupled with one another” Thor added 

“And for once you’re finally listening to me” Loki rolled his eyes 

“But after you have established her control, you must allow her to be trained in the open” Thor continued

Loki huffed, annoyed. 

“As you wish” he said, gesturing to Alina to follow him. She smiled at the group with an apologetic look and trailed out of the room after the raven haired god. 

“Yes Loki?” she said as they entered what she assumed was his room. He had walked the entire time in silence. 

“This is getting more and more dangerous.” he said simply 

“Only for you” she laughed, leaning against the wall still sore from the cradle. 

“Sit” he said, gesturing to the well made bed. 

She couldn’t fault Tony for the rooms they had been given. The main bedroom sported wide views out over new york and had their own units with a living area and fully stocked kitchens. They were more like their own mini apartments than anything else. 

“You’ll probably want to lay down whilst activating the stone” Loki continued 

She did as he said. The bed smelt like him. 

“Ok let’s do this” she muttered to Loki who sat in a chair diagonal the bed. Taking a deep breath she activated the Soul gem, then after a moment the Space gem. She lay there for a few moments, collecting herself before searching for the Mind Gem. The power was something she was getting used to but even then, this felt like a shock wave. Her eyes glowed bright golden and her hands shimmered. Loki approached cautiously. 

“You should be able to interfere with Objects. Telekinesis, lift them, move them, break them. All with your mind” he said

She looked to the small one draw drawer sitting across the room and with a tense jaw, she managed to lift it off the ground. Lifting her hand, she sent a golden energy wave which blew it backwards against the wall. Loki nodded. She continued to look straight ahead with wide eyes. 

“OK. I know where you are in terms of power now. You may stop” he said 

She didn’t move, her eyes were still wide as she sat up on the edge of the bed. Loki kept his eyes on her. 

“You can stop, Alina” he said

Still she didn’t move. She appeared frozen in her place, her eyes were vacant and distant as if she was seeing somewhere else. In her own head, Alina watched memories flash by of her childhood, her parents and their deaths, her work, her partners, New york, everything she had experienced. The tragic events to the nights out in University with her friends, they all came flashing back over her. With a gasp she was released and she fell forward towards the floor. Loki caught her and pulled her into his chest. He noted she was shaking as he lifted her back up onto the bed. 

As he got a good look at her face he saw her eyes were wide and fearful and a few tears were tracing on her cheeks. Her eye colour was deep green again but she looked scared. 

“Alina” he shook her gently, he had never seen her react to anything other than humorously or calmly. She continued to shake a little. Unsure of what to do, he pulled her into his chest and held her there, leaning back on the bed so they were laying down. 

“Shush.. I am sorry. It was too soon to activate the gem in your weakened state” he murmured against her hair. He was almost certain she had seen memories of her past, or at least visions of some sort. The mind stone was known for it’s telepathic like powers. She had been too weak to control it. 

She didn’t say a word. Her breathing was slightly ragged and she seemed to be in shock. He calmed down as he realised she was not injured or frightened by her memories but rather she had slipped into shock at the experience. After nearly 30 minutes she seemed to loosen up a little bit but he did not let go of her. A part of him didn’t want to. He held her tight against him and relished the feeling of her hands against his chest and her legs against his.

“W-what t..the hell w-was that?” she stuttered 

“The Mind Stone. It’s categorized by its abilities on the mind and presence. It strengthens memories but primarily allows telekinesis. What you felt.. what you saw.. it was due to the activation of the gem” Loki said quietly 

“Will it happen every time I use it?” she murmured 

“No. No it shouldn’t do” 

She didn’t reply. He looked down at her and saw she was staring blankly into his chest. He sighed and continued to hold her. To his surprise, she nuzzled her forehead against his chest and took a deep breath. He kept quiet. 10 minutes later, he looked down to find her asleep, exhausted. With a shimmer he changed his clothing from leather and armour to a green cotton shirt and black pants, leaving Alina in her white shirt and loose shorts. Wrapping his arms around her, he promptly fell asleep.


	22. History

The next few days were a blur of training. Alina woke up that following morning to find Loki gone and her under the sheets. She had sighed, rolled onto her back and then gotten up, moving to her own quarters. At the morning briefing she noticed Loki watching her but she was too distracted to be bothered by it, or even notice it. Her mind was elsewhere, stuck on the memories the stone had shown her. She had lived those moments but seeing them played back to her like some sort of film was haunting. It wasn’t the fact the stone had shown her them, that much she could accept, but rather she felt like she was missing something. That, somehow they were all linked together by something or someone and they were standing out of view, watching from the shadows. The thought bothered her, she rarely missed anything. Her distraction became evident to the group of the next few days. After each morning briefing she would set to work with the other scientists in her lab and more often than not, Erik and Jane. Even when training with Loki she remained thoughtful and reserved and in the evenings she began training more and more in the huge gym facilities, taking her frustration out on punching bags and dummy drones. The team watched from the glass area above. Tony had double sided it so they could see down but those in the gym couldn’t see up at them. Alina had been training for 3 hours now and was cleanly finishing off a drone with her magic.

“Is she more powerful than that?” Steve asked 

“Infinitely. Her abilities continue to grow” Loki replied without a look sideways at the soldier 

“She’s been reserved lately..” Sam began

“Something is wrong” Bucky said simply 

Loki sighed. He had told Thor of what happened and Thor too, worried about what she may have seen or felt. 

“When the mind stone was activated a few nights ago, it triggered memories. The gem is characterized by its telekinetic abilities and powerful magic force. When she activated it, she saw every memory she possessed. I fear of what she may of seen from her past” Loki said 

“I think it’s time we looked at her files” Natasha said, leaving the room. The others followed, leaving Alina to continue taking out drones. 

To their surprise, Fury and Coulson were waiting in the living room.

“Afternoon” Fury said

“Why are you here?” Tony asked, eating a grape from the table

“Son of Coul!” Thor said

“A pleasure as always, Thor” Coulson said

“We stopped by to let you know that there have been no advancements on the man in the suit you encountered at the HYDRA base last week” 

“You could've called” Rhodey said

“We were in the area. Wanted to make sure the tower was still standing” Fury shrugged 

“Excellent because we need to talk” Steve said

 

“And about what would that be, Captain?” 

“Sparkles. We wanna see her files” Tony said 

“Miss Everton’s files are classified SHIELD data” Coulson said

The group exchanged glances between one another. Fury doesn’t often classify an agent’s files from them. Even they had access to one another’s files. The only person they had encountered whose files they could not access were Coulson’s and that was because of what had happened with Loki and the events after it. 

“JARVIS access Alina Everton’s files please” Tony asked 

“Yes sir” 

Fury raised an eyebrow. 

“Im sorry sir but it seems I am unable to access those files” The AI informed them 

“I thought we had gotten past hiding things, Fury” Steve said, taking a step forward 

“We must see Lady Alina’s history. It is of great importance” Thor said 

At this Jane entered with Pepper and the two stopped as they saw the stand off. 

“WHAT is going on?” Pepper demanded 

“Fury is hiding Alina’s files from us” Bucky said 

“Is this to do with her preoccupation recently?” Jane asked innocently 

“Excuse me Miss Foster?” Fury asked 

Jane seemed to stutter a little before speaking, looking uncertainly at Thor who nodded at her to continue. 

“After the HYDRA base.. She seems consumed in her own thoughts. Thor told me of how the infinity stone.. mind gem.. how when activated it feeds the occupant all their memories right back to the very first. I tried to ask about it when she was working with Erik and I but she just shook her head and told me it was simply a shock to her” 

“And you think it’s something more?” Coulson asked 

“We all do” Natasha replied 

“Dr. Everton is known for her level head and calmness but I have never seen her so concerned over something as this” Jane replied 

“Director Fury, I think it’s important that your team understands their members. The consequences of not doing so could be catastrophic to any of them or to our planet” Pepper said calmly

“What she said” Tony quipped, continuing to eat grapes

Fury looked around the room and then sighed. 

“Fine. But you are not to bother Miss Everton about anything you see in her files unless it is explicitly brought up” 

“Of course” Steve said 

“JARVIS access Miss Alina Everton’s files. Access code 3g4590tu8”

“One moment, Sir” 

Fury stood with his hands behind his back, waiting patiently. At his side, Coulson looked slightly regretful. They were breaching their own contract by revealing the girl’s files. He had seen them himself and the avengers really did not understand why they were kept under lock and key. It wasn’t exactly pretty. 

“Sir, I have retrieved the files for Dr Alina Everton. Would you like me to project them now?” 

“Ya, Jarvis front and centre please” Tony replied to the AI

Seconds later a blue film appeared in the middle of the room and Tony began to scroll through it, bring up Alina’s files and then flicking his hands in a jazz hand like manner, causing different stories and videos to expand out. They gathered around, each reading different articles, performance reports, Alina’s own work and so forth. Bucky’s breath hitched. 

“Buck?” Steve asked 

Bucky expanded a series of reports and articles for them to read. They circled around. 

“PROMINENT SCIENTISTS FOUND MURDERED IN OWN HOME” a news headline read 

Fury stepped in to speak. 

“Her parents worked for SHIELD. They were exploring the same sort of thing Miss Foster is exploring now except they did so far far earlier. They had hit a massive breakthrough while studying the physics behind teleportation and other ‘enhanced’ abilities. We believe this is when they may have encountered what Thor’s people would call the ‘Soul Gem’ and passed it on to Miss Everton by accident, without realising. Their acquisition of the gem, or rather their discovery of the cosmic power put them at extreme risk. Risk we didn’t understand at the time. Miss Everton would have been 8 years old when she walked up her garden path and found the front door ajar. Inside, she found her parents bodies. They had been tortured and killed by HYDRA for information. We don't believe they ever gave them what they wanted but their bodies were covered in knife slashes. Their throats had been cut and they had been shot multiple times. The girl had the wits about her to call the police almost immediately but it was far too late to do anything. We flew over to the UK to examine it since they had been our scientists working out of our UK branch. Police described the scene as the most brutal homicide they had ever witnessed, some of the cops had thrown up upon entering. The girl was found sat in the corner of the living room, across from her parents bodies. She appeared in shock but uninjured. She was then sent to her Aunt’s to live. That Aunt passed away when she was 19, studying in America” Fury said solemnly 

“That wasn’t.. I didn’t I was.. it was it me?” Bucky stuttered brokenly 

“We don’t think so” Coulson said gently. Bucky swallowed back the lump in his throat. To his side, Loki was simply staring at all the articles in disbelief. As they continued to flick through the articles, Fury continued to explain her life to them. 

“She lived with her Aunt until she was 17 and finished High School. She got a scholarship to study over in the US in forensic pathology and bio-medicine. She took it and did her 3 years there, studying her 4th year masters out on the field in afghanistan. She worked as an army medic to gain her masters degree in forensic pathology and worked primarily in restoring victims limbs to their bodies so they could be sent back to their families.” 

“She was a soldier…” Steve trailed off

“When she arrived back after being discharged, she began to collaborate with Dr. Cho, drawing up plans for hyper quick muscle regeneration which lead to the creation of the cradle. She based her PHD subject around this and restoring soft tissue at a rate faster than a human could possibly generate. This is when we began to notice some of her work, keeping her on our tabs list just in case. From there, she went back to the UK and worked in between MI5 and MI6 while still completing her PhD. While working for them, she gained the ability to work as an Investigator as well as their resident forensic scientist. After working there for a year and a half, her partner was killed tragically in a raid of a HYDRA base. They were unaware it was one but he was shot dead covering her. Naturally, she blamed herself and left MI5 and MI6, moving to New York and beginning work with the NYPD. She took up a similar position as an Investigator/Scientist and had been working for over 6 months, solving 5 cold cases on her work and earning herself quite the reputation, when the Chitauri happened.” 

Fury brought up a video. It was Alina, hair tied back and kitted up in NYPD bulletproof vests. She was shooting from behind a car at the Chitauri whilst trying to move people out of the way. To her side, another NYPD officer had his body thrown against the wall by a Chitauri soldier which she narrowly missed. Another video came up, after the battle, of her and a few officers dragging bodies off the main streets. She was checking pulses and seemed to be exhausted as she leant against the brick wall of an apartment building, staring up at the sky with her face and outfit covered in blood. Fury cut to another video. This time she was in an interview room, her outfit and face still covered in blood and cuts and bruises. Fury was speaking to her about choices, joining SHIELD or being imprisoned. 

“I don’t seem to have much of a choice” she had answered wearily, nodding 

“She worked for us for another 6 months, identifying bodies from the massacre. She ran numerous tests on how the weaponry affected the human body and presented multiple reports. She was an invaluable asset. After 6 months however, she quit and moved back to the UK to work for London’s Scotland Yard. After working there for 9 months, we became aware of her powerful presence. The day Loki and Thor took her, we were in the city ready to approach her about working for SHIELD again so we could keep her under supervision. However the evening before we were due to approach her, we received a call from the general police telling us that someone had called in reporting to strangely clad men seemingly dragging a woman along with them near where we knew Miss Everton worked” 

“By the time we got there, you were just leaving Thor. We yelled to stop but we knew it was you” Coulson finished 

“So you’re telling me she witnessed her parents dead bodies after a brutal homicide by HYDRA and she acquired the infinity stone BECAUSE of her parents, she was in the army, had her Investigative partner killed protecting her BY HYDRA, worked for every agency under the goddamn sun, fought in the SAME battle we fought in New York and then worked for you of all people and you thought NONE of this was worth us knowing” Tony asked sarcastically 

“I agree with Tony” Steve said

“And when people start agreeing with Tony then you know the world’s coming to an end” Nat added 

“That’s awful” Jane mumbled 

“Poor thing” Pepper added to Jane’s comment 

Loki was still staring at the floating images, videos, articles and reports. He had added to her suffering in that invasion, she had to watch people die because of him. Who knew how many people she had watched die after her own parents. He thought of his own mother and how he would have reacted to find her dead and bloody body. He shuddered. 

“Why would Lady Alina not mention this to us?” Thor rumbled 

“Oh yeah big guy she really want’s to mention her dead parents in casual conversation” Tony sassed, the topic hitting a chord for him. 

“Hey, enough” Clint said 

“Do you think she knows about her parents accidentally giving her the soul gem?” Sam asked

“No I didn’t but that is a very interesting theory” Alina said from the doorway. They all whipped around, guilt written all over their faces. 

“Hey kid…” Clint began

“You’re breaking regulations and our contract by exposing closed files” Alina said calmly to Fury 

“Blame them” he indicated to the room 

“The blame lays on no one. It had to happen at some point” she shrugged 

They were awfully suspicious of her calm reaction to finding them snooping through her entire life in SHIELD files. She seemed to pick up on this and smiled gently. 

“Like I said, it had to happen. I wouldn’t have spoke of it if you had asked” 

“Girl how are you not angry” Sam asked

Alina smirked a little, amused. They looked like kids caught stealing from their parents. She didn’t blame them, she would have expected any of them to be angry had she done the same thing and, the subject was rather heavy. She didn’t speak of that day she found her parents dead and it wasn’t what was bothering her about the memories. She still felt like she was missing something or someone who was tying them together. Someone who knew or something that was relevant that kept escaping her eyesight but was always present. No matter how much she dug through her own memories, she could not seem to identify a perpetrator.

“No need to be angry Sammy boy” she replied, wandering into the kitchen. Natasha followed her. 

“Look, I know what it’s like to be haunted by your past but you can’t shut us out” she said 

Alina looked up at her over the drink she was making and smiled. 

“I don't think you’re one to talk” 

“Either way…” Natasha began. 

Alina wandered back out of the kitchen into the living room. She glanced at her files, still suspended in the air. Sighing, she waved a hand and turned back to Natasha. 

“My past, the memories I saw, they do not particularly concern me. They happened, I cannot change them. I have relived them every day of my life, without the mind stones help. What is bothering me is something slightly more complicated… It’s what I don’t remember” 

“You fear you are missing memories?” Thor asked 

“No, Thor. Rather, I am missing what links them together. There is something or someone who knows more than any of us do about the stones and about us. I am missing that piece.” 

Thor and Loki exchanged a glance. 

“What do you mean?” Clint asked 

“I mean, it doesn’t make sense. The character of these stones, how they work, it doesn’t correlate to me. And the fact I always seem to be in the right place at the right time to encounter them. Something bigger is involved and I can feel it, I just cannot figure out what and it is bothering me greatly” 

“Ok what” Rhodey said

“Exactly” she said 

“I’m sorry” Bucky spoke quietly 

“You thought it was you, didn’t you?” She asked, wisely. 

Bucky nodded. Steve looked sympathetically between the two. 

“It wasn’t” she said quietly 

“How could you know? It may of been” he whispered 

“Because I was there. I lied to those policemen and it wasn’t you” 

“What?” Fury and Coulson said in sharp unison 

“I was a kid, I got scared of saying anything to the police” she shrugged 

“So you know what happened?” 

“I remember most of it” 

Fury made a gesture with his hand. 

“I had come home early that day because a friend’s mom had dropped me off. When I went inside, it had already begun. I screamed and the men there saw me and gave chase but I hid under box in the stairwell. I heard them talking about my parent’s work, threatening them, asking them for information on physical entities and alternate power sources. My father tried to lie about it but they saw right through it. I still remember the screams. My mother died first though, I think it was a form of punishment you know? Watch the person you love die. Then they killed my dad. After I thought they had left, I snuck out and the living room was soaked in blood, it was everywhere. But they weren’t gone, one of them came back in and he stopped in the doorway when he saw me. He was different. The other men were dressed in black combat suits and armed heavily. He was dressed in a fitted suit, complete with a pocket square..” she trailed off, musing on the thought 

“Do you know who he was?” Fury asked cautiously 

Alina glanced up at him from where she had sat down. 

“Yes. His name was Alexander Pierce” 

Bucky, Steve, Sam and Natasha all looked at one another in shock. Bucky’s former handler was responsible for Alina’s parent’s deaths? 

“How could you know that?” Rhodey asked 

“Before turning around and leaving he looked at me and told me I was lucky. A few days later I saw his face in the papers after sealing some big corporate business deal whilst on his trip to London” 

“And you never mentioned this?” Coulson and Jane asked in unison 

“Well, he’s dead now isn’t he” Alina smiled, looking to Steve. Steve returned the smile. He could only imagine the terror an 8 year old would have felt in that moment. 

“He is” Bucky said, determinedly 

“Well then, you may do what you like with the information you have gained today but remember I have always known these things. It’s my life and my memories and just because you now know them, does not mean I am a different person” 

They sat in quiet for a few moments before Alina looked up tp Fury. 

“Shouldn’t you be at work?” 

Pepper laughed and looked at Alina. 

“Would you like a drink?” 

“I’d love one”


	23. Something bigger

“Loki, Nat, Clint, Thor you guys doing ok?” Steve said over the coms. They were out on a mission retrieving data from a semi-abandoned Hydra base. The team had come to trust Loki enough to send him out on these missions without the presence of every super human on the planet watching him. Thor however, was always required to go with him. 

“We’re on our way out no- ah shit” Nat crackled back 

“What?” 

“Hydra men in pursuit, we’re taking our team and getting out of here” Clint replied 

Yells could be heard in the background of the men they had taken with them. Gunshots sounded. Steve, Bucky, and the remaining members of the team back at SHIELD HQ sighed. It was meant to be a straight in straight out mission, no engaging. They had to come all the way out to HQ from the tower in New York at Fury’s ridiculous request and were hoping for something quick and simple. This meant a tonne of paper work without a doubt. 

2 hours later, Nat stalked through the doors followed by a dirty Clint and a slightly grumpy looking Thor and Loki. Behind them, some of the men were being brought in on stretchers, blood dripping onto the tiled floors. 

“Uh, retrieve mission remember?” Tony said sarcastically 

“I damn well remember, Stark” Natasha hissed 

“We were ambushed” Clint said offhandedly 

“Hydra rebels again?” Bruce asked 

“Yeah” 

“But the men fought valiantly! Truly worthy of Valhalla with such bravery and zest!” Thor roared 

Loki rolled his eyes. 

“Report on Reindeer Games?” Tony grinned

“He was fine” Natasha grumbled 

Clint snickered. 

“What?” Sam asked, as they walked towards the conference room 

“Loki saved Nat’s butt out there” Clint grinned 

“I would have been fine” Natasha snapped 

“I do recall a gun at your throat and you pinned to a wall by 3 enemy mortals” Loki raised an eyebrow 

“Whatever..” Nat muttered, ignoring Steve’s giant smirk 

“Nice job” Steve said to Loki, who looked mildly surprised at the sentiment. He shrugged in response. 

Bucky laughed under his breath. The entire thing was dishevelled. Loki and Natasha working together? He actually wished he had been there to see that shit show go down. 

They entered the conference room and Bruce excused himself to check on the results of some tests he had been running in his lab. Rhodey was off training, using the open air space around HQ to practice maneuvering and obstacles in his suit, much to Tony’s amusement. Nat threw herself into a chair whilst Thor leant against the wall, spinning Mjolnir casually. Clint threw his bow and quiver onto the table with a notable clang and a large huff as he, like Natasha, sat in one of the leather chairs. They stared at the glance table in silence for a few moments before Steve began to speak. 

“Did you retrieve the Information?” 

Natasha chucked a USB onto the table, leaning back into her chair. 

“What I wanna know, is how HYDRA knew we were there” Tony said, resting on the back of a chair. 

"They didn’t. The place was still occupied” Clint groaned, leaning back in his chair 

“It shouldn’t have been. They’re changing tactics, trying to catch us out” Bucky answered 

“We’re going to have to re-evaluate” Sam mused 

“Or you could simply change your own tactics? Stop waiting for these mortals to attack you and instead, attack them first” Loki suggested, amused. 

‘That would be helpful if we knew where they kept disappearing to” Steve said 

At this, Coulson walked in. 

“Rough day?” he asked, glancing around at the Avengers. 

“Not at all Son of Coul! A valiant fight only raises one's spirits” Thor grinned 

“So, rough day” Coulson smiled 

Steve began to brief him but Coulson interrupted him. 

“I already know. Saw some of the boys coming in on stretchers” 

Steve nodded. The room went quiet again and Coulson stood awkwardly with his hands behind his back while Natasha clicked and unclicked a pen absently. 

“Uh anyway..” Tony began 

“Anyone know where Alina is? I was going to see if she wanted to train, throw some magical shit at me you know?” Sam asked 

Loki glared daggers at him. He was well aware of the man’s fascination with Alina and she had spent a great deal of time training with him physically, allowing him to use her as an enemy to dodge and attack. Time she could have spent with him. He had watched him as his eyes had trailed after Alina when she would leave the gym or a room. 

“Ah she’s in surgery” Coulson said, absentmindedly 

Every head in the room snapped up. 

“Is Lady Alina injured?” Thor asked 

Coulson looked confused. 

“What? No, she’s performing surgery” he said 

“I thought Dr. Everton was a forensic pathologist” Banner asked, walking back into the room

“You forget that you have to study medicine to be qualified as a Forensics officer, even at it’s lowest levels” Coulson said 

“Um.. what happened to our head surgeon?” Clint asked

“She’s operating on him as we speak” 

“He wasn’t on our mission” Natasha’s head snapped up

“No, but he was attacked and shot while elsewhere and so due to 2 of our other surgeons being on leave, we needed someone else in” 

“What about our guys from today?” Tony asked 

“She’s doing them too. I wouldn’t bother her later, she’s going to be tired after 14 hours in surgery” Coulson replied 

“Guess she won’t be training then” Sam said, disappointed. 

They disbanded, going their separate ways. Loki sat outside in the twilight, watching the sun go down over the tops of the trees. It had been an interesting day and he was beginning to understand more about this ‘HYDRA’ group. He had suspicions that they were affiliated with something, or someone, bigger. Or at least, their superiors were. When they had entered the building that morning, it had been quiet, seemingly abandoned but as soon as they moved further in, there was suddenly activity. What surprised him more however was that they allowed him to go on a mission as such where only 3 people were accompanying him and only 1 of them had any chance of stopping him had he decided to kill them all then and there. The feeling was strange in itself. It was in his best interests now to protect these people and he had proved that today when he had stopped Black Widow from being killed. He mused the events. In the past month, things had changed very much. Although he still remained hostile as possible to the Avengers, or at least maintained a level of superiority, he did not feel as he did last time he encountered them. Then again, for much of last time he was under the dictatorship of the ‘other’ and of Thanos. Any attempt to break that would have resulted in more carnage and the immediate end of his life there and then, which he did try to avoid whenever he could. He was so consumed in his thoughts that he did not hear the superhuman come up behind him. 

“What’s changed?” Steve asked, standing behind Loki who was sitting on the roof and looking out over the forest. 

“Hm.. Whatever do you mean, Captain?” Loki hummed back. Steve could hear the smirk in the God’s voice. 

“I don’t believe you will even try to hurt any of us. Why?” Steve asked 

Loki looked up at him over his shoulder with a raised eyebrow and pursed lips. 

“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you” Loki said, his eyes going hard. 

“Try me” 

Loki stood up, his hands behind his back as he faced the super soldier. 

“There is a being, higher than the Chitauri were called Thanos. He controlled them. When my Father and Brother betrayed me, I fell into the void; a space hole if you will. I was captured by Thanos who tortured me to the point of Illness and death. I was given a choice: Invade Earth with the Chitauri Army or Die. Although I dearly wanted to take Midgard as my own at the time, I had a price on my head to do so” Loki shrugged

“So you’re telling me you were forced to do that?” Steve asked 

“More or less. I made the decision, make no mistake about that. However it is unlikely I would have had I not been captured by Thanos”

“There’s something bigger to all this isn’t there?” Steve asked. Loki had turned his back on him, looking out again over the forest. 

“There always is. Bigger than you or anyone else can understand. However that is not mine to speak of. Thor has that information and he will speak it when the time is right, yet I feel my oaf of a brother under the command of my equally blinded father may leave that time too late” Loki sighed 

Silence fell over the two and Loki continued to stare out over the forest. The Captain’s questions were strangely honest and trusting but he knew he would be taken back to Asgard if he even spoke of Thanos or the Prophecies to the mortals and right now, he would prefer to be on Midgard. 

“Alright.” Steve said, his footsteps falling quietly as he walked away towards he hatch door which lead back down into the base. Suddenly they stopped and Loki raised an eyebrow, listening for the super soldier. 

“And for the record, I trust you” Steve continued. He saw Loki’s shoulders lift a little. As much as he hated to admit it, a part of him did trust what Loki said. Even though he was the God of Lies, he had spoken to him with a reserved honesty of a man who knew he would not be believed or trusted. Steve had seen it in men during the war; men who had been forced to do things they did not want to do or did things they thought they were right yet ended badly. He sighed and jumped back down the hatch, walking through the corridors and back to his room. They left the next morning and he planned on getting at least one good night’s sleep.


	24. The Shadow

They were all glad to be boarding the Quinjet the next morning. Tony had joked he was going to fly all the way back to New York city so Coulson had quietly called Pepper who had in turn called Tony and told him if he did that the Tower wouldn’t be standing when he got back to it. The team stood around in the large glass foyer area waiting for the air space teams to give them the all clear to board the Quinjet. They were also still waiting on Alina whom none of them had seen since before Natasha departed with Thor, Loki and Clint for their mission the day before.    
  
“Ok where is Sparkles at?” Tony asked   
  
“Dunno, she’s around somewhere” Rhodey said    
  
They were keen to get back and get the copious amount of paperwork over and done with so they could relax for a couple of days. Clint was thinking of going and visiting Laura and the kids if the HYDRA activity stayed low.    
  
Coulson walked in, tapping away on an Ipad. As he entered, he lowered it and flicked the cover on. He wore his usual suit and an awkward smile as he began to speak.    
  
“Dr. Everton will not be accompanying you back to Avengers Tower” he said, his hands clasped in front of him holding the Ipad.   
  
“What? Why?” Steve asked, his voice was concerned. Bucky glanced at him apprehensively    
  
“She is remaining here completing the medical treatment for 3 of our agents and our head surgeon until we can fly in our alternate surgeons”    
  
“How can we trust this? Lady Alina must remain safe” Thor said   
  
“And she will but right now she is needed”    
  
“Get someone else” Tony said, his voice defensive    
  
“Like I said, we can’t and.. contract” Coulson smiled    
  
“Screw the contract man” Clint said    
  
“We should at least hear this from her” Sam inputted 

  
“You don’t trust us?” Coulson queried   
  
“And in good measure” Rhodey defended 

  
“I agree. We should be able to see her” Steve said   
  
“Ah I don’t believe that-” Coulson began    
  
“I’ve got 10 minutes” Alina said, walking into the room. If her voice sounded tired, it was no comparison to how she looked. She was still dressed in full medical scrubs with the face mask hanging around her neck and blood splattered in various places. Her hair was tied back and she looked exhausted. Her whole appearance was tired and drained to the point where she leant against the wall rather than standing on her own.    
  
“Christ kid” Tony said   
  
“How long have you been operating for?” Natasha asked   
  
“Head Surgeon took 13 hours, he was shot in some pretty difficult places. One of your guys took a good 6 hours and the other two only took maybe an hour or two each”     
  
“So you’re telling me you’ve been in the surgery room for 24 hours” Clint stated    
  
“More or less. We had to get them done consecutively due to their injuries and no one else being available. I suggested a damn hospital but Fury didn’t trust any of the ones near here due to some obscure reason he refused to explain”    
  
“How are they doing?” Coulson asked   
  
“All 4 men are stabilized. One is in Critical condition but the others should be perfectly fine unless any unforeseen complications arise.”   
  
“You’re staying?” Bucky questioned, his voice concerned. Steve looked at Bucky. It had been a while since he had heard his friend’s voice sound as it did back in the 40’s when he was always being looked out for by Buck.    
  
“I have to. If anything goes wrong and I am not here to supervise then they could easily die” she replied, a weary look on her face   
  
“You must sleep for a while” Thor demanded    
  
“I will, Thor. The Junior doctors here are more than capable of handling anything minor but I need to be here if something goes wrong.”    
  
“Im going to give Fury some serious shit about this. How do you only have one head surgeon?” Tony huffed    
  
“They’re still setting up the medical facilities here” Alina shrugged in response

“When will you be back?” Loki asked, equally as concerned.    
  
“A couple of days at most. At earliest, tomorrow” she smiled    
  
He nodded, satisfied that she would not be out of his eyesight for too long. Bucky stepped forward and said something quietly into her ear, she nodded and said something back with a small smile. He stepped back a little and Alina squeezed her eyes. They felt like sand had been rubbed in them. Bucky continued to look at her curiously before he pulled her into a tight hug. She jumped a little at the unexpected shock show of physical affection from Bucky.   
  
“Do get some sleep though” he said    
  
She laughed and nodded before waving to them all and exiting through the double doors with Agent Coulson.    
  
“What did he say to you?” Coulson asked curiously    
  
“He told me you were all bastards and I should stay safe” she smirked    
  
“We are and you should” Coulson agreed    
  
“I’m in for a long few days I feel” Alina replied   
  
“You are so take a goddamn nap” he laughed    
  
“Yessir” she saluted him sarcastically    
  
As she walked away, the Quinjet’s engines roared. Inside, the team sat jovially. They were pleased to have heard from Alina’s mouth that she was staying there. There was still a lot of distrust in them all and it had appeared somewhat suspicious. Loki was still caught up on the moment shared between the metal soldier and Alina. He would have done far more than hugged her given the chance but he continued to deny himself any attachment to the enigma of a girl. No matter how powerful, she was a mortal and what he felt was nothing.    
  
Clint had become hyperactive during the flight and was challenging Natasha to a duel. It progressed with Nat threatening to throw both Tony and Clint out of the jet, much to Steve and Bucky’s amusement. Steve was still curious as to what Bucky had said to the woman before they had left and while Natasha’s temper grew at Tony and Clint’s antics, he brought it up.    
  
“So what did you say to Alina?” he spoke quietly    
  
“Hmm?” Bucky hummed, his eyes still alight with amusement as he watched Clint dance provocatively.    
  
“You trying out some of the ol’ 1940’s charm?” Steve teased   
  
Bucky looked up at him with a lopsided grin.    
  
“Hardly, Steve. Besides we both know if I had tried that she would have fallen right into my arms”   
  
“Well what did you say Buck?” Steve grinned back   
  
“I told her not to trust the Bastards and to stay safe” he said simply    
  
“Why? I mean… I know… but why?” Steve was slightly confused now.    
  
“This is when they try sending people out on solo missions or on missions that maybe you wouldn’t approve of her doing. They might not, but it is something they tend to do. Separate people so they don’t have to deal with all of us opposing it”    
  
“You think they’d do that?”    
  
“It’s a possibility. You know SHIELD and it seems legitimate that she stays to save the lives of those men but I feel perhaps that afterwards they may attempt to exploit her being apart from us. I simply warned her”    
  
“You care for her” Steve said with a small smile   
  
“So do you” Bucky said back    
  
“I know. If Fury gets her killed I will avenge her” Steve said with a false dramatic bravado and a wink. Bucky laughed at his impression of some melodramatic movie star. Unfortunately, Clint and Tony took this as encouragement and began trying to get Thor to pin Natasha down with Mjolnir so they could give her a lap dance. She was not pleased at all. By the time they got back to the Tower, Tony had bruises all up his right arm from Natasha slamming him against a wall, which Clint had managed to narrowly avoid. The rest of the team were pleased to have more space from the duo upon arriving at the tower, since when Clint and Tony become hyperactive nothing good comes from it. Jane was waiting for Thor as he departed the quinjet and immediately engaged him in conversation about her latest work. Thor, although did not understand much of what she was talking about, found peace in her enthusiasm and grinned smugly at Tony who still was claiming Pepper was better.    
  
“JARVIS where’s Pepper?” Tony asked    
  
“Miss Potts is on her way up now, sir”

 

“Wonderful because I think tomorrow night we’re all going to go out somewhere, have some drinks, and cut loose” he grinned    
  
//   
  
Tony’s plan did indeed succeed and the next evening they were preparing to go out to a invite only bar party in downtown New York. The boys were dressed in smart casual and Natasha, Maria, Pepper and Jane all wore cocktail dresses of varying fashions and styles. What was the largest surprise was Thor and Loki, who were both yet to dress like they were from the planet at all. Thor wore a red midi coat and black jeans with a grey shirt, his hair was tied back and a pair of gloves stuck out from his back pocket. Loki was dressed equally as casually with similar black jeans, a white shirt and a deep green midi coat with the collar popped. He had cut his hair a little shorter and wore it messy, unlike the usual slicked back fashion he donned with his armor. Maria was surprised at how turned on she felt looking at the tall man as his eyes swept the room.    
  
“How is it that 2 Gods from a completely different planet can dress better than all of you combined?” Natasha asked, looking at the boys 

  
“They have thousands of years of fashion knowledge” Tony grinned as they walked towards the elevator. The group was actually pleased to have a night out to themselves rather than filing paperwork and briefing on HYDRA. Sam and Rhodey planned to tag team it and hopefully pick up some ladies whereas Bucky, Loki, Bruce,and Steve just wanted to have a damn drink. Tony was as excited as a little kid, looking forward to show off with Pepper and inevitably drag Clint with him whereas Thor and Jane would likely end up talking on and on about things they didn’t understand. Natasha and Maria ended up with Steve, Bucky, Bruce and Loki at the bar.    
  
“So boys, not trying to go after the ladies tonight?” Natasha took a sip of her drink    
  
“Nah, Bucky is afraid we might have them fainting all over the place” Steve winked   
  
Bucky grinned at her over his drink. He had come along way and Steve was pleased to see he was acting much more like the Bucky he knew back in the 40’s. It was a comforting thought that things could be ok again.    
  
Natasha laughed and began to engage in conversation with Bruce about Thor and Jane and the group they were talking to and who would get bored first. Maria began chatting to Loki and Steve whilst Bucky listened in. Half way through their conversation, Sam and Rhodey reappeared with big grins on their faces.    
  
“Still got it” Sam laughed.    
  
“Tag team bitches!” Rhodey grinned, sharing a fist bump with Sam.    
  
“I trust your night has gone well?” Maria smirked    
  


“Aaaaand we’re off again” Rhodey answered, pointing out a group of blondes to Sam who returned another fist bump before they both waltzed off.   
  
“It’s hard to believe we entrust our safety to them” Maria quipped   
  
Steve laughed.   
  
“To be fair, you entrust safety to me” Loki said dryly with a raised eyebrow    
  
“Very true” Natasha added in. She had been eavesdropping inevitably     
  
“You’re not slacking off work now are you?” A voice said, approaching through the crowd.    
  
It was Alina. She wore a simple black dress which stopped just above her knee and clung to her body perfectly, cinched in at the waist to accentuate her figure. Her hair was down in big, soft curls and she sported a smokey eye, nude lips and a glass of champagne in her hand.    
  
“Didn’t know you were going to be here?” Bruce asked    
  
“I’m here on work” she winked   
  
“I see… Shield?” Steve asked    
  
“When isn’t it. You’re right, they are bastards” she smiled to Bucky    
  
Behind her Sam tapped her shoulder and began to speak.    
  
“Hey girl, what’s your na-” he cut short as she turned around with an amused smirk on her face.    
  
“Alina” she responded    
  
Sam stuttered a little and Bucky, Maria and Steve erupted into howls of laughter, as well as Rhodey who had been watching ready to swoop in as a wingman. Natasha wore the biggest smirk on her face and Loki raised an eyebrow. In truth, he was more focussed on Alina’s figure in that dress and her long legs. Subconsciously, he bit his lip. She looked ravishing.    
  
“Nice Sam” Steve said through his laughs    
  
“Everyone else already knows I’m here. I must have missed you” she said to Sam and Rhodey    
  
“Oops…” Rhodey offered, standoffishly 

  
Alina’s head seemed to perk up at something to her right and she smirked a little. She seemed to watch for a little before chewing her lip and looking back at the group and smiling.    
  
“I’ll see you around, I have a job to do”    
  
She walked off down the line of the bar, and sat away from them. The move seemed strange and she sat there for a good 10 minutes when a man came up behind her and said something to the bartender. Alina looked up over her shoulder with a wide eyed look that was anything but natural to what they knew of her.    
  
“You really shouldn't”    
  
“Can’t leave a pretty girl like you all alone at a bar without company or a drink” the man said as the bartender served them. Alina smiled coyly. Gotcha, she thought. He talked to her for a good 30 minutes, mainly senseless flirting and ordering her more and more drinks. She smiled inwardly at the man’s stupidity. He thought she was getting drunker and drunker. She wasn’t.    
  
Natasha and Bruce had wandered off with Sam and Rhodey to go harass Tony and Bucky, Steve, Maria and Loki continued to watch Alina subtly. The exchange between her and the man was strange, she didn’t seem to know him yet she was openly flirting. After 30 minutes progressed into 40, the man leant down and kissed her. She put her hand around the back of his neck and one on his chest, kissing him back. Loki’s eyes hardened. Steve and Bucky swallowed a little. It was unlike her to do something like this. Maria on the other hand watched and then tapped something out on her phone. The man took Alina’s hand and she followed him off into the crowd.    
  
Alina followed the man as he lead her to a backroom. She smiled innocently and looked around her before biting her lip and looking back at the man. Around his neck, she saw the target. He pushed her up against the wall and kissed her. She responded with as much fake enthusiasm she could muster. He was hydra, it felt wrong to be kissing the enemy but they needed the 2nd part to the USB. As she wrapped her hands into his hair, she injected him with a sedative. His eyes opened in shock and she stepped back with a smile as he dropped to the ground, unconscious. Stepping over him in her heels, she ripped the necklace containing the stick from his neck, checked his pockets for anything useful and the waltzed out of the storage room, shutting and locking the door behind her. With her usual ease, she made her way through the crowd back to the bar and handed Maria the stick. Loki raised his eyebrows at her and she grinned at him.    
  
“Had to be done” she said    
  
Maria nodded and then zeroed in on someone over Alina’s shoulder. Alina tensed.    
  
“Shit” Maria said   
  
“I used the sedative” Alina replied, trying to keep her body language casual    
  
“He probably has built up immunity to it or he’s an experiment”    
  
“Has he spotted me?”   
  
“Not yet but he’s walking towards this area, he’s definitely looking”    
  
“Shit”   
“Public displays of affection” Natasha tipped her glass   
  
Steve allowed his concerned look to break into a slight grin at Natasha’s comment.    
  
“Yeah Im sure that wouldn’t draw attention” he joked    
  
“Not me and you big guy” she laughed    
  
“Loki be useful for once” she nodded. Loki raised an eyebrow at her. He was well aware of what they were talking about since he had gotten bored and read through many of SHIELD’s files and security footage. Alina was maintaining casual conversation with Bruce, attempting not to look tense but Bruce’s look told her that the man was coming closer in range of them. Loki placed an arm around her waist and swung her so she had her back to the crowd and he was leant against the bar. Her face remained calm but she raised an eyebrow at him, questioning him.    
  
“Im saving you” he said   
  
“You’re doing jack shit right now Lok-” she was cut off as he kissed her    
  
Steve and Bucky turned away with the biggest smirks on their faces any of them had ever seen. Across the room, Thor had looked up to locate his brother and nudged Jane who covered her mouth and began giggling madly into Thor’s shoulder. Maria snuck off to the side, departing the venue and grabbing a car to dispatch the USB to Fury before the HYDRA agent could get a hold of anyone. Natasha just smirked at her handy work, she had seen how Loki had been watching the girl ever since they arrived. She was an assassin and he was clearly readable despite his off handish attitude towards her.   
Loki tangled one hand in her hair and left the other gripping the small of her back. In turn, Alina placed one hand on his jaw near his ear and allowed the other to wander lazily across his chest. He was certainly not being gentle about it and Alina felt herself melting into him as the entire experience became a haze of pleasure. His tightened grip on her back made her moan quietly into his mouth and she felt him smirk into the kiss. He glanced over her shoulder and saw the man had moved to the far side of the room. Reluctantly, he broke the kiss and let out a little chuckle at her confused look. He had had her right where he wanted her, it was unfortunate they were not elsewhere. She stepped back, putting some distance in between them and the entire team present burst out laughing.    
  
“You’re welcome darling” Loki said   
  
Alina raised an eyebrow at him   
  
“Hey it worked didn’t it” Natasha grinned 

  
“You know what Romanov” Alina smirked back   
  
“Hey we should get out of here then. Don’t want to have to repeat that” Steve jiived    
As they made their way out to the car, Loki leaned across to Natasha.    
  
“How did you know I would know about the Public Display of Affections” he hissed    
  
She smirked at his hostile tone.    
  
“I saw you reading the file, dumbass” she said before Clint and Tony finally caught up with the rest of them.    
  
“IS IT TRUE” Tony squealed like a 12 year old   
  
“Grow up Stark” Alina said over her shoulder   
  
“Awww cuuuuuuuuutee” Clint teased    
  
“It’ll be cute when I put your head on a stick, archer” Loki huffed    
  
“So you’re telling me NO ONE decided to take a damn picture of this?” Tony asked    
  
They shook their heads in varying degrees of annoyance. 

“Of course you didn’t” Clint said grumpily    
  
“Mate you have to remember they had two old men who probably don’t even know how to work cameras” Sam winked    
  
“You should be thanking Loki. I may have been dead right now” Alina said, getting into a car with Steve and Bucky   
  
“Ah whatever” Tony yelled, getting into a separate car with Clint and Pepper. Bruce, Natasha and Rhodey went in another while Thor, Jane and Sam took the very first car.    
  
“Avengers tower please” Steve said politely. Alina sat in between Bucky and Steve which she had originally thought may be quite uncomfortable but Stark’s premier cars were surprisingly spacious and she stretched out her legs.  They sat for a while, talking about the night and Alina listened to Bucky and Steve compare it to parties in the 40’s. It wasn’t until she looked up and out the window she realised they were going the longest way to the tower.    
  
“Hey we’re going a long way around” she said to the driver    
  
“Oh I know. I just thought we should have a chat” the voice was hauntingly familiar and all 3 of them froze. The suited man from the Hydra base.    
  
“What do you want?” Steve asked. He looked to Bucky who had a hard grip on Alina’s arm, ready to yank her out of the car at any second.   
  


“Ohhhhh just a wee chat.  _ Don't _ worry I’ll drop you back to your tower” he said in a high voice    
  
The voice made Alina shiver. It cut right to the bone and made her freeze up. Beside her, Bucky and Steve felt the same way. There was something eerie and uncaring about the way the man spoke, as if there was no positive emotion.    
  
“What are we ‘chatting’ about then?” Bucky hissed    
  
“Juuust your precious little  **_weapon_ ** ” he hissed back    
  


“We don’t  _ have _ a weapon.” Steve replied    
  
“Why, yes you do!” The man replied with a 1950’s sitcom voice    
  
“We don’t” Bucky growled    
  
“Oh you do you do. She’s sitting right between you” he laughed   
  
Alina felt her calm demeanor begin to falter.    
  
“What?” she asked    
  
“So my love, what makes you so special? I’ve seen what you can do. So powerful yet so.. reserved. You could be using that power for bigger things” he grinned    
  
“Im quite happy where I am”    
  
“Ooh of course you would be! The darling Avengers! But why you?” his voice turned dark at his question    
  
“We have no idea what you mean” Steve said, looking out the back window he noticed 2 black jeeps following them. Hydra. Bucky also noticed this and exchanged a look with Steve. They couldn’t bail now unless they wanted to be shot down by agents.    
  
“Why her? She’s new I know she is but where has she been all this time? What power to you harness princess?” he asked tilting his head and staring into his mirror, looking back at her with soulless eyes.    
  
The tower came into view and they all tensed up, prepared to alert the others somehow.    
  
“Im nothing.” Alina replied    
  
“LIES” the man yelled    
  
“Lies.. but that’s the thing. I already know the truth.. just.. not.. all of it” he said in a quieter voice, pulling up to the curb.    
“So you’re dropping us back?” Steve asked apprehensively    
  
“Timing really is important. Besides, I don’t want you two complaining the entire way” he growled, unlocking all the doors.    
  
As Alina slid out from the middle seat, she paused and locked eyes with the man through the mirror. He smirked at her maniacally.    
  
“Who are you?” she asked, determined to control the situation    
  
“Im The Shadow” he said as Steve pulled her out of the car. They hurried into the building as the car sped off, followed by the two black jeeps.    



	25. Prophecy

The rest of the team were in the sky lounge and bar, continuing their evening when Steve, Alina and Bucky burst in.    
  
“Jeez what took you lot so long? Having a quick three some were we?” Tony teased    
  
“No we were just taken hostage” Steve said in a deadpan voice. He continued to explain what had happened and what the shadow man had said to them.   
  
Bruce and Tony immediately started bringing up statistics, tracking details, security footage and anything they could get from the night. The car he had used was simply a replica of those in Stark’s fleet and since he drove off with that, there wasn’t much evidence they could gauge from it.   
  
“What I don’t understand is how he keeps finding you” Pepper said to the group as she took a sip of champagne    
  
“I have had all our devices and clothes checked and double checked for taps or bugs and there is nothing. I had Fury do the same to the agents and the jets a few days back and nothing” Tony said    
  
“Because it’s not a bug or a tap he’s using to figure out where we are” Alina said, staring out the window over the city    
  
“What?” Sam asked    
  
“It’s me. Loki, Thor you guys found me because you tracked the power source right? And remember Agent Coulson saying they had traced a large powersource to me and had decided to fly over to London to see? The stones are being tracked because they’re exuding too much power” Alina said   
  
Loki and Thor looked to one another, remembering what Dus had said in the cells in Asgard. He spoke of a few members of Hydra already knowing about her, as well as other beings in the universe.    
  
“So you’re saying whenever you use or even slightly elevate the stone's power, you’re trackable?” Steve asked    
  
“It makes sense. The power is so great that with the correct technology it could be used as a trace. It wouldn’t be extremely accurate but it would be enough to tell which city and which area of the city she would be in” Bruce said, tipping his glasses.    
  
“What do we do?” Natasha asked    
  
“I stop using my magic until we are somehow able to dull the signal that pings off from them when they are in activation” Alina responded    
  
“But you  _ need  _ to train” Loki growled    
  
“I don’t see why. I have enough training to control them and use them in battle. It’s not like I am training for anything” she shrugged 

  
Thor moved uncomfortably and Loki huffed. They couldn’t explain the necessity without telling her of the prophecy. Tony and Bruce however shared a glance and Bruce raised his eyebrows.    
  
“What?” he asked    
  
“I think I have an Idea” Tony said    
  
“Oh no, no no no count me out” Bruce replied    
  
“Trust me it’s fine. We want her on missions right?” Tony asked    
  
“Of course” Steve butted in   
  
“Alina darling come with me” Tony grinned, dragging her to his lab.

  
For the rest of the evening and well into the early morning Alina sat and allowed Bruce and Tony to work around her, taking blood samples, testing her power, trying to trace it themselves and reading results and data. Jane looked up at the lab which overhung the sky lounge and bar. Alina leant against the window, looking out over New York while Tony took her bloods for the 3rd time that evening. Jane respected Dr. Everton and after working with her only for a week, considered her a friend but she felt that Thor was not telling her something and it had begun to bother her. She leant over to Thor who sat next to her.    
  
“What aren’t you telling us?” she asked   
  
Thor looked to her and she could see the guilty look in his eyes that he was trying so hard to hide.    
  
“I don’t know what you mean?” he said   
  
Jane sighed. She knew it had to be pretty big if Thor was required to keep it from her but it was starting to affect them all. Everyone could feel the tension from Thor and Loki whenever the stones were mentioned by the team or by anyone else.    
  
“About Alina. You and Loki are not telling us something. You’re always tense whenever those Infinity Stones come up and everyone is noticing it Thor”    
  
“She’s right” Natasha said quietly. She had been eavesdropping like usual and agreed with Jane. The longer Thor and Loki hid the truth the longer the tensions would rise and distrust would form between them all.    
  
Above, Loki sat across from Alina as Tony and Bruce stood in the corner discussing results and figuring out some equations to form another test. He watched as Alina looked out over the city and there was a look to her eyes which he couldn’t identify. Something between nostalgia and sadness but it was calm. There was nothing panicked to the look, simply an even look of thought. He felt her thinking more and more lately. He knew she was growing in her power and it was beginning to consume her thoughts as she dealt with how to control it. As he stared, she looked up and gave him a small smile.    
  
“You cut your hair” she said, her eyes raking over him.    
  
“It needed it. Not too much though” he smiled    
  
“It looks… good. Left loose like that”    
  
“Thank you” 

She went quiet for a few minutes, looking back over the city with the same look as before. As she turned back to him she closed her eyes heavily and gave him a tired look.    
  
“Loki…”   
  
“Yes?”   
  
“I think I am in this over my head”   
  
“What do you mean?”    
  
“All this power.. I can feel it. I can feel everything and I fear loss of control. This is over my head, what we are dealing with. It feels bigger than just Hydra. I can feel it. It.. something more important is happening” she said   
  
He swallowed a little. He resented lying to her, especially about something so massive but he knew that she mustn’t know until she was powerful enough to face the prophecy that hung over her head.    
  
“The stones.. they’re power is unprecedented. Even I don’t know how your body and mind will react to the power as it grows but I promise you I won’t let it hurt you” he replied    
  
Across the room, Tony and Bruce looked up at Loki’s words. Alina put her heads in her hands, making her hands into fists she squeezed them tight. The feeling was overwhelming, she felt scared but she couldn’t say of what. There was just the immense feeling of terror, that something was going very wrong. Loki furrowed his eyebrows, he was worried at Alina’s signs of fear and distress. He moved forward slightly and she looked up at him with pained eyes. He stopped and stared, she looked afraid.    
  
“Sparkles? You ok?” Tony asked, after watching the interaction    
  
“Im ok tony” she replied in an almost whisper, twisting her arm so not to pull out the IV.    
  
Loki sat back down but to his surprise, Alina’s eyes flashed gold. He stood up with such haste that Tony and Bruce jumped. They too froze at Alina’s sudden change. Tony went to move towards her but with a look he was suddenly unable to move.    
  
“Wha-!” 

“The Mind stone, she’s using a telepathy method to tell your brain functions to freeze your motion of legs” Loki said

  
Bruce started twitching slightly and Loki and Tony looked to each other. Alina was manipulating his brain functions. In a fluid motion Loki lunged at Alina, tackling her back into her seat. He raised his fingers to her temple like he had that first time at the bifrost, and knocked her unconscious. Bruce stopped twitching and let out a gasp. Tony collapsed to his knees and wobbled as he stood back up. Loki stroked the girl's face as she lay back in the chair, unconscious. Her sudden loss of control had been a surprise to him but he suspected it was due to a surge in power. To his surprise, Tony approached and cuffed Alina down to the chair by her wrists and ankles. Loki looked at him, aghast.    
  
“Precautions”    
  
“Those won’t stop her using her powers” Loki said in anger   
  
“No but these will” he replied, raising a pair of thick metal cuffs which clicked in a strange manner as they went on her wrists and encompassed much of her hand. Loki growled and Tony just looked at him.    
  
“We have to tell the others” Bruce said, eventually recovering from his near miss with the other guy.    
  
Loki walked behind them, down the stairs. He recognised the look of confusion and fear she had given him in that split moment her eyes had connected with his. He hated seeing her in that much pain and confusion.    
  
“So she just… lost it?” Steve asked    
  
“No. The power spiked just as it happened” Tony said. Loki looked at him, surprised he was defending the girl.    
  
“Has it happened before?” Clint asked, looking to Loki.    
  
“No. Never. But the mind stone is the mind stone for a reason and no Asgardian alive has ever seen or documented the stones when coupled together in one person so there is no way to tell how she may have reacted” Loki shook his head   
  
“I don’t understand.. Something is missing” Bucky said    
  
“Thor…” Jane trailed off. Thor chewed his lip and looked to Loki sternly who sighed and glanced up at the glass of the lab upstairs. He pursed his lips and nodded.    
  
“There is more to Lady Alina than the general abnormalities.” Thor began “The Infinity Stones can only be wielded with all powerful beings otherwise they are destroyed. Like Jane when she possessed the dark Ether or the Reality stone as you will, it began to kill her.”    
  
“I thought you said Alina could wield them because of some traced ancestry or something?” Sam asked   
  
“Yes, she has. But there is something more.. A prophecy written by the Universes Elders well before even my father's father was alive. It talks about a woman who wields the stones and returns balance to the universe after fighting the Titan Giant, Thanos. It was specific enough to detail the woman possessing the Soul stone first and collecting the rest as she travelled through the universe on her journey to destroy Thanos”    
  
“So you’re telling me the girl has some stupid prophecy? Please.” Rhodey said    
  
“It is a truth my friend. The universe’s survival rests on her shoulders. That is why the infinity stones are drawn to her when she comes in contact with them and that is why must continue to train and build her control” Thor replied    
  
“What happens if she doesn’t?” Natasha asked    
  
“We are all destroyed” Thor answered    
  
“You’re kidding right. Surely Asgard and us could work it out anyway” Tony said    
  
“You do not understand the importance. Thanos is in possession of the Infinity Gauntlet. With the Gauntlet one may control all of the stones at once. He plans to use it to destroy Asgard, Midgard and the rest of the realms and take control over the people left”    
  
“So you just threw this prophecy at her and thought she’d work it out?” Steve asked, slightly angry   
  
“Well… actually” Loki said   
  
“She doesn’t know of the existence of this prophecy” Thor said awkwardly    
  
“You mean you didn’t tell the girl who is meant to be able to ‘save us all’ about the damn prophecy in which she appears as the frontrunner” Bucky asked in anger   
  
“And she must continue to remain ignorant of it” Thor said   
  
“Are you kidding me?” Jane asked    
  
“No I am not. If she finds out of the old tales too early, she may refuse to participate in her own destiny” Thor said   
  
“So she doesn’t even get a choice?” Steve asked    
  
“She must not know of the prophecy until she has at least one more stone and the control over it to understand why she must fulfill her destiny” Thor replied 

  
“So we are to lie to her?” Natasha asked    
  
“Yes. She must not know. Under any circumstances until we tell her ourselves”    
  
“This is bullshit” Bucky smashed the glass in his hand and Steve jumped    
  
“This isn’t a good idea” Bruce said   
  
“I know. But she can’t know. Her power is unsettling to her and to put her in that position could cause her to flee or make decisions which may get her captured or killed by the enemy” Loki said quietly.    
  
“Fine. We won’t tell her anything without Thor’s authorisation” Tony said   
  
The group nodded and Thor looked around.    
  
“Before Loki’s authorisation actually. He knows her best and he knows the stones better than I. He will know when is right”    
  
The group looked surprised but Tony shrugged.    
  
“Fine. Now I need to go check her vitals” he said, walking back up the stairs 


	26. Girl's Night Out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took a little longer. Obviously it's been Christmas, for those of you that celebrate it of course, and I have been busy with family. Thank you for your patience and support and happy holidays!

When Alina woke up, she immersed herself in intense training, determined not to loose control over the power of the Infinity Stones again. Loki was impressed by her progress and she was soon able to take minor control over people’s bodies. It took her time and she could only do one person at once but it worked well enough on that person to stop someone from running away or pulling a trigger. Bucky had been teaching her fast hand combat which involved moving too quickly for the opponent to lay a hit as they were too occupied with blocking your own and he too was impressed with her sudden strong resolve. She was becoming a powerful fighter but the team feared she was spending too much time disciplining herself. Even Natasha watched with concern. After Steve found her training at 2am for the 5th time in 2 weeks, they decided they had to do something. They lounged in the Skybar, preparing to watch a The Breakfast Club since Tony had been aghast at the fact Steve and Bucky had not bothered to watch it yet, when Alina padded in barefoot and dressed casually in jeans and a navy blue blouse with tiny white dots. Her hair was down in it’s natural waves and she looked across to them with a raised eyebrow before continuing to slide on a pair of black Chelsea boots. 

“Hey sparkles? Wanna come watch the breakfast club with us? Capsicle and Boy Wonder here didn’t think it was important enough to put on their list” Tony said to her. Pepper rolled her eyes and gave Steve and Bucky a sympathetic smile. 

Alina looked up from sliding her shoes on and gave them a smile. 

“As much as I would love to help re-educate Steve and Bucky and berate them for that terrible choice, I am going out. Thank you though” 

“Gotta date?” Tony winked 

Loki tensed, waiting for her answer. He feared the worst but she simply laughed at Tony’s comment and shook her head so her hair fell over her eyes. Casually, she pulled her hair back from her face with one hand and ran it through her hair. 

“No I-” she began 

“Actually she does, with me and Darcy” Jane said 

 

“Oooh girls night out?” Clint teased, his chin on his clasped hands like a little girl

 

“Well Darcy wants to get drunk later so yeah I suppose” Jane answered with a smile 

“We are so not letting that happen” Alina grinned 

“You’re telling me” Jane replied, equally as amused. 

“Stay safe” Thor said, walking over and planting a kiss on Jane’s forehead 

“Always” 

They walked towards the elevator, talking quietly about what they were to do about Darcy tonight and her plan to get blackout drunk. As the elevator doors shut, Pepper turned to the group and smiled smugly. 

“I think she beat you to it” 

Some smiled, Tony simply rolled his eyes and kissed her cheek as he hit play and they settled down to watch the film. 

At the bar, Darcy was in the middle of telling as many jokes as she could think of to make it painful for Alina and Jane who had subjected her to 45 minutes of science chatter. 

“Ok OK ok what do you call a singing laptop?” She asked over her beer 

“Whaaat?” Alina groaned 

“A-dell! Ha! Get it?” She grinned, pleased with herself 

“That was worse than the Udder-cow one” Jane said

“Whaaatever Jane! Anyway, how’s it going with space muscles?” She asked

“Space Muscles?” Alina asked, amused 

“Yeah ya know? He has muscles, he’s from space” Darcy filled her in, much to Alina’s amusement. She noted that she would have to use that one on Thor, for Loki’s benefit anyway. 

“He’s good.. you know.. saving the world, the usual” Jane replied 

“At least he didn’t disappear for two years again” Darcy joked 

Alina giggled. She’d read the files and Loki had told her of the slap Jane had delivered upon meeting him. Not that he didn’t deserve it, it was simply that Jane did not seem the type to resort to that sort of thing. 

“Are his muscles big.. down there?” Darcy jiived 

Alina burst out laughing at this. The thought itself put her off completely. Thor was just too muscled and big for her liking and the thought of well.. anything below his waist reduced her to laughter. Jane was blushing furiously as she answered. 

“He’s.. well endowed” she admitted a little coyly 

Darcy’s mouth dropped open and she began hooting with laughter. Once she stopped, Jane rolled her eyes at her and took a sip of her drink, giving her a glare. 

“And what about you and his psycho brother?” Darcy asked Alina 

Alina choked on the sip of vodka she was taking and looked up at her with large, questioning eyes. 

“Oh come one! Jane told me how you’re aaalllllwaaays with him” she continued 

“He is training me” Alina replied with a smile and a raised eyebrow 

“Oh please! You gotta admit he’s a little hot” Darcy said 

“Darcy!” Jane scolded although her voice hinted at laughter 

“Hey, the whole dark and mysterious thing is a little bit hot!” Darcy defended herself

“True” Alina noted, nodding her glass towards Darcy with a mischievous grin. She wasn’t wrong. There was something about Loki that caught her off guard and she couldn’t deny there was attraction there. She thought to the way he’d kissed her the other night and the complete control he had taken over her. She had completely lost her head and was unable to fight his dominant advances. An inexplicable part of her had wanted him to continue. 

Jane’s jaw dropped a little before a huge grin spread on her face. 

“We could be sisters in law” she smirked 

“What? Oh my god Jane no!” Alina laughed 

“You did kiss him the other night!” She replied 

Darcy opened her mouth. Her face resembled that of a puffer fish as she bulged with comments at Jane’s statement.

“You did what! Oh. My. God. Literally” she yelled  
“He kissed me! And he was saving my ass from a crazy killer I hadn’t knocked out properly” Alina defended

“Excuses Excuses!” Darcy replied 

“Hey either way, Loki looked like he was enjoying himself and her certainly looked like he held it much longer than needed” Jane winked 

“Oh please. We all know what Loki’s like, he just wants to mess with people for the fun” she replied nonchalantly 

“To be fair, he doesn’t seem to want to destroy us all anymore” Jane noted 

“Eh, redemption? From the files I read, Thor was a bit of a twat himself when he first got her” Alina replied cheekily 

“He was… uh different” Jane shrugged and Darcy coughed into her drink to hide a laugh

“You know, Steve and Bucky used to live around here” Alina said, with a grin. 

“You mean captain hotpants?” Darcy asked with hearts in her eyes 

“Yeah that one Darc” Jane replied 

“Mmmn lower brooklyn” Alina laughed 

“We should go have a look” Jane suggested, keen to get out of the bar as it became more and more busy.

“It’s fucking dark outside” Darcy said

“So?” Alina grinned and Darcy rolled her eyes, mumbling about them getting murdered as they rose from the table. On their way out, a few men started hooting at them. Jane rolled her eyes in disgust and Alina raised an eyebrow at them, ready to destroy them if they moved. As predicted, one grabbed Jane’s wrist forcefully. Alina moved forward and slammed her hand down strategically over the bone of the man’s wrist, causing him to drop Jane and howl in pain. He turned to Alina who assessed him with a disgusted look. 

“Dont” She said simply, before slipping past him and following Jane and Darcy out of the door. 

“Thanks” Jane breathed 

“There’s always one” Alina shrugged. Her time working for the Police had required her to be out on many patrols and call outs, mainly patrolling bars and going out on domestic violence calls. She had seen her fair share and could read a violent man’s actions before he’d even thought of them himself. 

“That was SO cool. You basically karate chopped his hand! You could've broken his wrist!” Darcy gushed excitedly

“It’s probably fractured to be fair” Alina smiled back

They walked down the street, chatting between them. The subjects flowed between Asgard, Erik, Science, Thor and Loki, The Avengers, and their families. It was pleasant and Alina felt herself easing up a bit in the casual atmosphere. They approached the refurbished apartment buildings in the lower east side and Alina pulled the group to a halt. They stood in front of the complex, staring up at it as they stood in a row. 

“So Captain fine-ass lived here?” Darcy mused 

“In the 30’s and 40’s yeah. It would have looked different” 

“Yeah no shit” Darcy replied 

It had snowed earlier and there was a blanket of it on the ground. Darcy plopped down in it, staring up at the building. The road was quiet and no one drove on it. Jane looked down at Darcy with a confused look. 

“Why not?” Darcy shrugged 

Alina also sat down next to her and Jane sighed and followed. They leant back on their hands, staring at the building. Each lost in their own thoughts. 15 minutes later it began to snow lightly but still they sat, illuminated by the street lights, watching the building. They had drunk enough to be ever so slightly tipsy but still very sober. 

“Ya know, we could be in the 40’s right now” Darcy spoke into the silence

“Dreaming of the army men taking you dancing?” Jane asked, pulling at her glove before laying down completely in the thick snow. 

“Hey gotta love a gentleman” Darcy joked as she and Alina copied Jane. They stared up at the falling snow that resembled tiny falling stars against the black sky. They glistened in the street light and broke up the space between the sky and the roof tops. 

“Alina?” Jane asked, Alina turned her head in the snow and looked at Jane 

“Yeah?” 

“Does what happened with your parents ever bother you? You never seem upset” Jane asked 

Darcy had been brought up to date by Jane and Erik and went somber at Jane’s slightly tipsy yet very serious question. Alina sighed and smiled a little, looking back up at the sky. 

“I’m not heartless. It used to, when I was younger. Every night I’d have nightmares, panic attacks, anxiety, Like someone was hunting me, crushing my chest in. But you learn to control that sort of thing. Being in the army, with MI5 and 6, any of them, I saw far worse things. Even now I see worse things. It still makes me anxious sometimes but you have to accept the past. There’s not one thing in the world you can do to change it but you do have the ability to change the future. It’s why I do what I do. It gives families and victims peace of mind and the opportunity to leave the past where it belongs”

“So you just.. let them go?” Darcy asked 

“What choice do I have. Dwelling only causes pain and while I had to give myself time to suffer, that suffering cannot last permanently” 

“Yeah I know. I dont know if I could do that.. if I lost Thor” Jane said 

“You love him” Alina smiled 

“I do” 

“Ew ok back up the sappiness” Darcy laughed 

“Yes ma’am” Alina joked 

“Speaking of which. Boyfriends?” Darcy asked 

“A few here and there. 1 or 2 serious ones, couldn’t handle my job though.” Alina laughed back

“But were they hot?” Jane giggled 

“Not as hot as Thor” Darcy winked 

They lay in the snow laughing at their antics. Jane was pleased at Alina’s positive response to their night out but her slight drunken haze prevented her from thinking about it too much, which was probably a good thing. But she did notice a change, Alina seemed looser and opened up to her. Jane had a sneaking suspicion that Loki had developed attraction for Alina and she had been determined to get something out of Alina, even if it was just a little admission to the fact she thought he was attractive. In their giggled discussions, none of them had picked up their phones. Jane’s and Alina’s had each rung at least 10 times. None of them had bothered to check the time either and it was now 3am. The snow had gotten slightly heavier yet they still lay in it, looking at the old apartment building. No cars had passed nor had any people and it felt to each of them, like their own little space in time. That was until the entire Avengers team arrived. 

“Found them” Tony said, flying over. 

The team got out of a few cars across the street and they immediately stiffened as he saw them lying in the snow. Individually, they feared the worst but they soon loosened up as they realised that the 3 were actually laughing. Slowly, they approached and Steve spoke first. 

“Is this my old building?” he smiled

The girls looked up at him. 

“Oh my god. It’s captain sexy pants! Did you know the building would attract him?” Darcy laughed, hitting Alina. 

Steve grinned and Bucky smirked as he came up beside him. To their surprise, the girls rose to their feet, covered in snow. They had obviously been there a while considering how much snow and ice was stuck to them and how pink their cheeks were. They also appeared to be a little drunk. The team faced them. 

“We have been searching for you. We feared maybe something..” Thor said 

“You guys worry sooo much!” Jane laughed 

“Try living with them” Alina smirked back 

“Alright time to go home, dolls” Bucky grinned 

“Ugh I am so not ready to go home. The nights not over yet!” Jane said excitedly 

“I know! Party poopers! Go home we’re fine” Darcy motioned 

“We are not leaving without you” Clint replied with raised eyebrows 

“Come one Jane. Time to go home” Thor chuckled 

“Heey Alina? Can you..?” Jane asked 

Alina caught on immediately. 

“Totally” she smirked mischievously, raising a golden barrier with the flick of her hand. 

“You go home, dolls!” Darcy said as the three took off running down the street. The team looked at each other in varying states of amusement and confusion. 

“Ok I am going home” Natasha said with a small smirk, knowing where the entire thing was going. Clint, Sam, Rhodey, and herself all took a car and left, heading back to the Tower where Bruce had stayed just in case the girls had come over. The rest of them rolled their eyes and after five minutes, the barrier disappeared and they gave chase. Unfortunately, the girls were nowhere in sight. The barrier had dropped only due to Alina getting out of her concentration range. They walked through Brooklyn whilst Tony flew above, looking out for them. It was 4am before they finally caught up with the three of them who were down at the slow flowing river under Brooklyn Bridge. Alina had managed to freeze across the river and the trio were having a snowball fight whilst pretending to ice skate. Much to Tony’s amusement who refused to let anyone stop them until he had taken ample pictures. After he did, Thor attempted to pull Jane of the ice but it simply cracked under him and he was forced to back off. Eventually the three skidded off the ice themselves but as the group approached them, Alina threw another barrier in their way, causing Jane and Darcy to burst into laughter. This time however, she had not blocked any opposing magic and Loki cloned himself behind the shield, taking hold of Alina and pulling her against him so her back was to his chest. She jumped in shock and the entire force field shattered. 

“Thank you brother” Thor said

“Behave yourself” Loki murmured in Alina’s ear

“Mmmhmm” she hummed back lazily 

He held her there whilst the group organised himself. Bucky grinned at the girl who still held the mischievous look in her eye. 

“Hey Ali? Why the apartment building?” he asked, Steve listened in curiously. 

Loki raised his eyebrow at the nickname. It had been coined during Alina’s training with Bucky and had simply stuck for the pair. No one but the metal armed soldier seemed to call her that.  
He felt her shrug. 

“It’s stuck in time” she answered and Bucky shook his head with a smile before making his way up the bank next to Steve who accompanied Darcy. Unfortunately for him, Darcy was still making comments about his body which caused him to blush profusely to everyone’s amusement. Loki had Alina by the arm as they walked back towards the road. He was dressed in his armour this time, fearing the worst. Jane and Alina kept yelling cryptic messages back and forth at each other which Darcy occasionally joined in and they burst into laughter at. By the time they got to the cars, Loki was ready to knock the other two out and shut Alina up in a far more creative way but instead he found himself in a limo with Thor and Jane. After instinctively checking the driver, the first 10 minutes consisted of Jane and Alina talking rapidly about something neither he nor Thor understood. It took only this 10 minutes for Thor to raise an eyebrow at him and Loki to put a sleeping spell on the two. Jane was almost knocked out instantly, much to Thor’s disapproval, however he found his enchantment did not work so well on Alina and only made her sleepy rather than knocking her out slowly. Arriving at the tower, Thor carried Jane in and Alina walked slightly slower than usual next to Loki, leaning against him occasionally. He worried that the spell may cause her to faint but surprisingly they made it to her floor without incident. Walking down the hallway, she pulled a hand through hair, causing him to glance sideways at her quickly. She still had snow on her and her eyes were large and bright after being out in the dark for so long, she was biting the inside of her lower lip slightly but appeared slightly drowsy due to his spell. As they reached her door she unlocked it and turned around to face her, he leant against her door frame with one hand above his head. His hair fell in his eyes slightly, in their rush to find them he had not had a chance to slick it back. She stared at him with large green eyes and he chuckled at her. She smiled a little at this but did not step back. He could tell her judgement was impaired from the enchantment and the alcohol but he could not tell what she was thinking as she simply stood there, not saying goodnight nor closing the door.  
In a fluid motion, she leant up and kissed him. He opened his eyes wide in shock and then smirked into her lips, bring the hand above his head down to her neck and allowing the other to grip her waist. Expecting her to back off and go to bed, he loosened his grip and the kiss but to his surprise, she pulled one hand through his hair and continued the kiss. He grabbed her chin and held her head still, controlling the kiss. Gently, he pushed his tongue against her lips, asking for entrance but she refused with a small smirk. He chuckled at the girl’s stubborn resolve and took a hold of her neck, forcing his way into her mouth. He felt her shiver and grabbed her tighter, relishing the control he was taking from her. She attempted to regain control of the kiss but he pulled her chin up with two delicate fingers and left a trail of kisses down her neck. She gasped quietly and wriggled a little bit. 

“Do not tempt me” He whispered against her neck, biting down near her collarbone. 

“Loki” she whined 

He pulled back and observed her. Her lips were parted and her hair slightly messed up, her cheeks were a flushed pink and her eyes clouded over in desire. He smirked at the effect he had pulled from her but the tug at the back of his mind knew she was drunk and suffering the effects of his enchantment. 

“Nice try.. princess” he teased wickedly before turning around and walking down the hallway. Although he had wanted to push her back into that room and slam the door behind him, he knew that a) it was wrong to do that whilst she was in that state and he did not wish for her to resent him and b) it was much more fun to tease her, frustrate her, once every few weeks. Make her think it was nothing, allow it to fade for a week or two and then light that mischievous little spark she had going. Always so calm, collected and in control, he relished the look in her eyes as he took her down a notch, the way she gasped and tried to regain her control and he especially loved the way in which she had whined his name in need. A part of him however, still attempted to deny the affections he felt for the woman who stood so strong and level with a fire in her eyes.


	27. A Royal Visit

To Bucky’s surprise, Alina was up and in the gym by 7am that morning. Thinking no one would be up after getting in at 4:30, he was going to train in the empty gym but when he got there, Alina was already smashing apart drones with golden whips of magic.    
  
“You know, you should really get more sleep” he said    
  
She jumped and turned around, a smile forming on her face.    
  
“Adrenaline helps the hangover” she winked    
  
Bucky chuckled at her and walked over as she finished off the last drone. She actually did not look too tired considering she had a total of 2 hours of sleep.   
  
“Enough Ali” he said, tugging her by the arm. She protested to continue training but he continued to drag her out. To deter him, she decided to go limp but he continued to drag her, much to her annoyance.    
  
“Come with me” he demanded    
  
She raised her eyebrows at him and he smiled. It appeared genuine so she shrugged and followed him through the quiet building until they reached his room. He opened the door and walked in. She stood for a moment and then settled for leaning against the door frame. Bucky looked back and laughed at her.    
  
“Come in”    
  
She looked at him skeptically before entering his room and gazing around. It was pretty clean and simple but on the drawer she noticed a few pictures, one of which was himself in a military uniform next to two young woman. He looked handsome and happy and she noted that both his arms were still flesh and bone. She smiled a little and touched the picture. As she did so, she saw Bucky dancing with the two girls in a hall full with military men and pretty young woman. He was laughing and flirting with them. She reeled a little from the vision but said nothing to Bucky who was rummaging through his bed side table draw. She continued to observe the picture fondly. Bucky looked up and saw this. The girl had become like a best friend to him over the weeks and weeks of training and briefings, she added a little humour to it and gave him a little more strength with her steely resolve and kind heart. He laughed a little at the thought. Steve had brought up how much of a good friend she was the other day and he couldn’t help but gushing. She fitted well with Steve and himself, providing a balance for the two. Finding what he was looking for he tapped her on the shoulder and he held it up in front of her face, dangling from his metal fingers.    
  
“A dog tag?” she asked curiously    
  
“My dog tag actually” he said back, placing it around her neck.    
  
“James…” 

  
He smiled a little at her use of his real name. Her eyes were wide and she looked curious and a tiny bit sad.    
  
“It kept me safe.. Now it’ll keep you safe” he shrugged    
  
She smiled and read the dog tag fondly. He however, was thinking of the ridiculous prophecy which they were forbidden to tell her of.    
  
“Sergeant James Barnes” she teased    
  
“hey the ladies loved it” he smiled lopsidedly    
  
“Aint that the truth” Steve said, leaning against the door they had left open.   
  
“Morning Steve, sorry about last night” she grinned, unapologetic 

  
“No problem. Seriously though, why the old building?” he asked    
  
“It seemed right. It’s not changed too much either plus Darcy wanted to see where ‘Captain Fine ass once lived” Alina smirked.    
  
Steve blushed a little at this, remembering Darcy’s words from earlier that morning. Alina looked to Bucky and kissed him on the cheek gently before moving to leave the two men alone.    
  
“Thanks Sergeant Barnes” she smiled    
  
“See ya later Ali” he returned    
  


As she slid past Steve, he walked into the room and shut the door gently behind her. His friend raised his eyebrows at him and the corner of his mouth tugged up in a smile.    
  
“Why’d you do that?” Steve asked curiously    
  
“It kept me alive. I don’t like hiding all this from her, and maybe it might… I dont know Steve. Give her something to hold onto?” he offered    
  
“I don’t like lying either. She doesn’t deserve it”    
  
Bucky remained quiet and looked out the window over New York. It was so different to how he once knew it but it had begun to grow on him, finally.    
  
“She seems a lot better though” Steve offered    
  
“Mmmmm what do you think Thor’s game is in all this?”    
  
“I don’t know. He isn’t telling us anymore than he did that evening. I think a lot of the orders surrounding this come from his Father but the whole thing is shrouded. Even Loki seems to want to tell us more than Thor” 

  
Bucky looked up at him at the mention of the brother.    
  
“What do you think of Loki in all this?”    
  
Steve sighed and sat down on the edge of Bucky’s bed. He thought back to the conversation he had had with Loki on the rooftop of SHIELD HQ and the longer he spent around the man, the more he was beginning to believe it was true. Loki had shown the same kind of things Bucky had shown after being tortured by Hydra. Even Clint had admitted that Loki was behaving much differently. On a wing of chance, Steve told Bucky everything Loki had told him. Bucky considered all this for a moment and thought of himself after Hydra torture. A part of him agreed with Steve.    
  
“I think… the man despite his short falls is telling the truth” Bucky nodded slowly 

  
“He is still mischievous and cunning and at times, cruel. But I don’t think there is any threat from him”   
  
“He seems close to Alina” Bucky offered    
  
Steve looked up at his friend and grinned, remembering the kiss from the party a few weeks back and the way Loki had held the girl.    
  
“Close.. yeah” Steve laughed 

  
“You think he’s in love” Bucky smiled back  
  
“Maybe. I dont know how that works for him. He seems to be denying it himself but he cares for her”  
  
“If he hurts her I’ll kill him” Bucky said  
  
“I’ll help you” Steve grinned at him   
  
Bucky laughed at Steve who wouldn’t kill a fly if he didn’t have to.   
  
“Excuse me, Mr. Stark has requested you both in the kitchen” JARVIS said   
  
Steve rolled his eyes.   
  
“On our way”   
  
As it turned out, Stark had simply wanted to wake everyone up which Natasha and Pepper were especially not amused at. It was Jane however who was the most pissed. She stalked into the kitchen and walked right up to Tony and without missing a beat, landed a punch to the face. Thor smirked into his coffee and looked away. Apparently Tony had turned the sprinklers on over the bed in Jane’s room when she had refused to get up. Darcy was also less than pleased and had decided to go out and get coffee with Ian rather than deal with Jane’s wrath and Tony’s sumg grin.   
  
“What the fuck Stark” Jane growled   
  
“Ow jesus” he complained, rubbing his face   
  
“You deserved that” Alina said, defending Jane.   
  
“Whatever” he said, reaching for his coffee on the bench. With a subtle movement of her fingers, Alina moved the coffee cup off the bench and onto the floor, shattering. Loki chuckled and she raised an eyebrow at him.  
  
Thor also began to laugh and Alina looked over at him.   
  
“I don’t know what you’re laughing at, Space Muscles” she said dryly   
  
Both Jane and Loki had massive smirks on their faces at her nickname and Loki filed it away for further usage. Thor looked slightly confused. As Tony grumbled about his spilt coffee, Alina’s phone rang.   
  
“Oh so you can pick it up now?” Sam teased and she shot him a glare  
  
“Hello?”   
  
She listened a minute before turning away from the group.   
  
“Of course. Are you sure? Ok. Ok, yes. No, it should be in the blood works. Ok. What’s the prognosis then? Ah I see. Right yes I am. OK non official or official? Alright as you wish. Definitely. Ok, thanks. Bye”   
  
She got a few raised eyebrows as she turned around and shrugged.   
  
“Duty calls” She said, snapping her fingers and changing into the uniform Tony had designed for her. He had made even more changes so that it prevented her magic being traceable, much to everyone’s relief and now featured a slim bullet resistant backing to it.  
  
“Have fun with your bodies, Sparkles. Don't do anything naughty with them” Tony smirked   
  
“I’ll leave that to you” she shot back, before waving and slipping into the elevator. Her change to the modified shield suit revealed the silver dog tag hanging around her neck. Loki noticed curiously and realised it was the winter soldier’s. He glanced across at the man with a raised eyebrow only to find Bucky already looking at him. The man seemed slightly amused at his reaction and continued to look at him until Loki looked away. Jane’s phone rang.   
  
“Alina?” She answered, listening for a little bit.   
  
“Yeah of course I’ll be right down”  
  
Jane hung up and smiled at Thor apologetically.   
  
“Erik wants me”   
  
“no, go it’s fine” He answered and Jane took off toward the elevator  
  
Thor was planning on spending the day with her, especially since she was hungover but he figured it could be done another day and he supported the friendship which was quickly growing stronger between Jane and Alina.   
  
“Hey it’s alright big guy, Pepper is out too” Tony said, clapping Thor’s shoulder   
  
“I’m too tired to train today” Natasha said, flopping down on the couch. They were all aware that Fury would be visiting the labs later in the day but he couldn’t fault them for taking 1 day off from training.   
  
“Right, what else is on that list of yours?” Clint asked Steve and Bucky   
  
“Uh Star Wars?” he suggested meekly   
  
“You haven’t gotten round to watching Star Wars?” Rhodey asked, incredulously   
  
“It seemed kinda unimportant in comparison” Bucky added, pulling a bag of crisps from the cupboard.   
  
“UNIMPORTANT!?” Tony squealed   
  
“Sit down boys. Even I agree on this one” Natasha added in   
  
“What is this war of the stars you speak of?” Thor asked   
  
“It’s a movie series meatloaf. One of the best of all times if you ignore the prequels” Tony answered   
  
“Don’t show them the prequels” Sam said as he sat down next to Natasha and Clint   
  
Bucky and Steve looked confused but sat down as Bruce sighed and grabbed a few bowls of popcorn which he had been popping in the microwave. Halfway through Episode 4 and Steve and Buck were already in love with the franchise. They sat on the edge of their seats, watching with earnest and throwing about theories for Luke’s next moves or Leia and Vader. Loki too found himself enjoying the Midgardian film, despite feigning boredom. He found the Darth Vader character interesting in his complexities and wished to see his fate. They decided to continue on and watch Episode 5 and then Episode 6. Steve and Bucky practically swooned at Leia and Han’s profession of love for one another and gasped as Luke lost his hand against Vader. They were near the end of episode 6 when Bucky screamed ‘Called it!’ as Vader sacrificed himself to save his son. Loki watched with an intense interest at the sudden sacrifice and Thor continued to speak of the valiant bravery of the cloaked man. The credits were just rolling and they had begun to speak of theories when alarm bells sounded throughout the building.  
  
//  
  
In the labs, Alina, Jane and Erik had been tracing some molecular strength signals in the area. Alina had finished her work with a corpse fairly quickly and had decided to join Erik and Jane, much to their pleasure. They were pouring over celestial structures and physical entity presences when their equipment recorded a sudden, unprecedented spike of energy which shorted out their main generator. Immediately, the missile proof glass around the area came down and alarm bells began to blare loudly. The other scientist with them inside the glass looked up and rose to their feet, joining Erik, Jane and Alina in their corner. In the space 15 meters in front of them, sparks began to form in the air. They backed against the glass.   
  
“I’ve seen something similar to this. When Loki came through to earth.. it looked like this but then we had the Tesseract.. and a portal formation. This is forming out of thin air.. I haven’t seen anything like it”   
  
They began trying to read the equipment and make adjustments but the sparks kept forming and then flickering back in on themselves. Behind them, doors opened and Fury and Coulson came barging in with Maria in their wake. On the opposite side, The Avengers stepped out of the elevator to see the commotion going on.   
  
“What the fuck is going on, Dr.s?” Fury yelled over the alarms   
  
“We don’t know! Sudden spike in energy and then this began to form” Erik answered, gesturing to the sparking mass a little in front of them

“Dejavu?” Fury said, looking to Coulson, Clint and Loki    
  
“We need to get them out of there” Clint said, immediately recognising the similarities   
  
“The glass won’t raise until the energy levels even out. Security Protocols, nothing gets in or out” Coulson answered    
  
“We must get them out of there” Thor roared over the noise   
  
“Don’t even think of breaking it. If you smash that glass, we all die” Tony warned    
  
The forming portal continued to spark and suck back in on itself. Jane, Erik and Alina leant over the computers and systems reading the report back they were getting. A few moments later they all exchanged a glance.    
  
“The power surge knocked out our main power source, we’re running on generator now” Erik said   
  
“SO?” Fury yelled through the glass   
  
“So that portal, whoever is forming it, is bouncing off our powersource but we don't have enough power now so they cannot fully come through” He replied    
  
“Good!” Sam said   
  
“Not good” Jane yelled back, keeping her eyes on the portal   
  
“Why not?” Rhodey asked    
  
“If it continues to do this, the portal will implode and take down this entire building, if not the entire block of buildings surrounding the tower” Erik answered   
  
“It would take too long for me to stabilise the main power system. We need a larger powersource ASAP” Tony said desperately    
  
“We don’t have one!” Jane answered, equally as panicked    
  
“Yeah we do” Alina said, looking at Jane and Erik with a steely resolve   
  
“Oh no no no” Jane looked at her   
  
“It could work” Erik replied    
  
“DO NOT DO THAT” Fury roared   
  
Alina ignored him completely and looked to Jane and Erik who immediately began plugging in various wires and system controls.    
  
“Where would you usually outsource the power from?” Alina demanded from one of the assistants who stood shaking a little. He pointed to a large cylindrical object connected to the wall to the left. Alina immediately recognised it as the main generator which all of their gear was hooked up to. She strode across to it as Loki, Thor, Tony and Clint yelled their protests. Standing in front of it she quickly did a mental prognosis of the placing of all the wires and noted the kill switch on the left hand side. Looking over her shoulder she made eyes with an anxious Jane who nodded.    
  
“On three!” She said   
  
Alina flashed her eyes green-gold and felt her hands fizzle.    
  
“1… 2…….. 3!” Jane yelled. Erik plugged a huge wire into their systems and Alina plunged her hands straight into the mainframe of the generator, switching her eyes between green, gold and blue rapidly so as to quickly build different states of energy. Sparks began to fly over her head and she kept her eyes to the ground to avoid the subsequent pain. She could not see the portal behind her or if it was working but before she could finish the thought, she was sent flying backwards into the glass behind Jane, Erik and the other scientists by a small explosion. Winded, she hit the ground but forced herself to her feet with the help of Jane and Erik. They watched as the smoke cleared and two figures stood. Behind the glass, Fury and the Avengers tensed up preparing to be attacked.    
  
Odin and Frigga appeared. They stood as the smoke cleared in their usual attire and looked no more or less graceful and royal than usual. Frigga smiled gently at Alina.    
  
“Thank you dear. We encountered a bit more of a problem than we had thought”    
  
“Mother?” Loki asked    
  
“Father?” Thor continued incredulously    
  
“Oh god” Jane said    
  
“ _ Those _ are your parents?” Tony asked with an open mouth    
  
“Lady Alina Everton, we have business” Odin spoke authoritatively in his usual disinterested tone. As the energy levels returned to normal, an assistant science technician tampered with the systems to turn off the alarms and raise the glass.    
  
“Do we? You could have called first” she said dryly. Loki smirked    
  
Behind them, the group stepped forward. Thor wrapped an arm around Jane protectively. He had felt an intense terror that perhaps it was Thanos coming through the portal and he would have to watch Jane be slaughtered by the titan.    
  


“Mother, Father why did you not use the bifrost?” Thor asked, confused    
  
“We did. Unfortunately Heimdell miscalculated which caused quite a problem. Again, thank you Alina. We needed the power increase. I see you have gained another stone” she said calmly    
  
“Much to my disappointment” Alina answered    
  
“We have matters to discuss Lady Everton” Odin interrupted, disregarding the rest of the group completely    
  
“And what is this business?” Fury asked, his arms crossed 

  
“None of yours, Midgardian”    
  
“My building, my business” Fury replied evenly    
  
“Well, actually it is my building but yeah same thing” Tony answered, waving a little.   
  
“Whatever you wish to discuss with Alina, we will be present” Thor answered simply    
  
His mother simply nodded and Odin said nothing, eyeing his son. Quietly, they made their way back up to the skylounge where the group had been watching their movies so comfortably not half an hour ago. Odin placed his hands behind his back, staring out the large windows of the city. Midgard had changed much since he had last been here and the humans were much more reluctant to submit.    
Frigga was speaking with the group. She was interested to meet all of Thor’s Midgardian heroes and she was quite impressed by their collective efforts over the past few years. They were becoming a force to be recognised. In tandem, the group very quickly came to like Frigga and her kind hearted nature. Sick of their useless chatting, Odin sighed and turned around and the groups attention immediately fell on him.   
  
“You have not returned to report for nearly a month” Odin said, looking straight to Thor.    
  
“There has been little of importance to report”    
  
“Miss Everton’s power has grown considerably since we last spoke and her acquisition of the mind stone is significant” Odin replied sternly    
  
“Again, you could have called” she said, already getting sick of Odin’s mannerism. Unfortunately, this drew his attention off of berating Thor and on to her.    
  
“You have grown substantially more powerful, girl. I take your training is going well?” He did not even look to Loki as he spoke   
  
“If you mean has Loki been acting up then no he hasn’t and he has been teaching exceptionally well” Alina replied equally as calmly    
  
Frigga smiled at the girl's small defense of her son.    
  
“I  _ meant _ have you or have you not gained adequate control of the gems you possess?” he said, in a lower voice than before.    
  
“Yes. One slip up but other than that yes”    
  
“To what extent?”    
  
“Minor teleportation, weapon creation, energy blasts,force fields, telekinesis, minor telepathic control of other individuals use of limbs, Ice abilities, interfering with physical objects..” she replied, rolling the list off her tongue.    
  
“It is time you return to Asgard then” he said simply    
  
Her head shot up, as did the rest of the team’s.    
  
“What?” Thor, Alina and Jane said in unison    
  
“She has spent her time on Midgard and now it is time she is put to better use on Asgard” Odin replied    
  
“She will stay here” Loki hissed, speaking for the first time.    
  
“If Thor and yourself enjoy your companions and Midgard so much you may stay however Lady Everton will be coming back to Asgard to be at use” Odin answered calmly    
  
Alina looked shocked at the way he was speaking of her.    
  
“Of better use? You mean you want to train her into our Armies?” Loki growled    
  
“Father you will do no such thing” Thor added    
  
“It is her birthright. She will continue to be trained on Asgard by our warriors and sorcerers”    
  
“Her birthright? She belongs here Captain one eye” Tony jeered    
  
Odin merely glanced at him.    
  
“Just like my birthright to the throne?” Loki hissed    
  
“Your BIRTHRIGHT was to die, abandoned. Saved only by the grace of my choice” Odin bellowed, causing Loki to raise his upper lip. Behind him the avengers glanced to one another, beginning to understand why Loki detested his father so much.    
  
“Odin..” Frigga began, but Alina interrupted her.    
  
“You will not speak to him like that” she said, her voice low and dangerous   
  
“I will  _ speak  _ to him anyway I like”    
  
“Well perhaps your birthright will be to die at my hands” she continued    
  
“You shall not speak to the King of Asgard, Ruler of the Nine Realms in such a manner.” He demanded    
  
“Then  _ you _ will treat Loki with respect.”    
  
“He does not deserve my respect”    
  
“Then you do not deserve my allegiance” she hissed back, meeting his gaze with her own piercing look.    
  
“You are playing a dangerous game, mortal” Odin growled    
  
“A game you know you will lose. I made a pact with the Jotuns but I did not pledge any allegiance to you. Do  **_not_ ** make me an enemy” she threatened, flashing her eyes golden    
  
“You are a foolish, stupid girl” Odin shot back    
  
“And you are a ridiculous old man blinded by false morals”    
  
“What would you know about Morals?” he hissed    
  
“At least I treat your son like a person and not a dog that you can kick whenever you feel the need” she took a step forward, positioning herself in the place to attack

“He is  **_not_ ** my son”    
  
“You told him he was up until not long ago. Is that how things work on Asgard? You just lie and lie and lie to avoid treating people with respect and dignity. In that respects, Loki is more of a person than you ever will be” she spoke with an even and dangerously calm voice.    
  
Behind her, Loki felt a crippling pang of guilt at her words. He too was lying to her, hiding the prophecy and here she was defending him. Standing up against the king of the 9 realms.    
  
“You do not understand the gravity of decisions in the universe” Odin replied simply    
  
“Maybe not but I understand the gravity of treating someone with honour and respect”    
  
“You will come back to Asgard” Odin said with finality    
  
“Midgard is my home”    
  
“That matters not”    
  
“I will not go back to Asgard unless it is on my own terms”

“Then I shall have to employ my warriors to take your forcibly”    
  
“Father!” Thor protested    
  
“Odin” Frigga said disapprovingly, walking up to her husband and taking him by the shoulder, leading him towards the bar to speak in hushed tones. Alina stood staring as every now and again Frigga glanced over to her.    
  
“Well I see why you went fucking crazy” Tony said to Loki who gave him a half smile    
  
“If I had to put up with that bullshit for most of my life I’d go psycho too” Clint added    
  
“Is he always like this?” Bruce asked Thor and Loki    
  
“Our father is… yes. Yes he is” Thor answered. He too was aghast at the way Odin was speaking of and to Alina.    
  
Natasha put a hand on Alina’s shoulder and said something to her quietly. Nat could see that she was tense from her toes right the way into her fingertips and was ready to take Odin out at one slip up. She recognised the signs, being an assassin herself and noticed Alina when she had taken the stalking movement forward towards the strange old man.    
  
“It’s not worth it” she said   
  
“He’s not taking you anywhere. Not on my watch” Bucky said, coming to her other side and tapping the dog tag around her neck. This seemed to loosen her up a bit and she ran a thumb and finger over the dog tag before looking back over at Odin. Loki and Thor stayed quiet, apprehensive of what was to come.    
After 5 minutes, Frigga and Odin walked back over. Odin looked royally pissed off but Frigga smiled and looked at Alina sympathetically.    
  
“You may stay on Midgard however we have both agreed that if you are to acquire another stone then you must come to Asgard for assessment” she spoke firmly    
  
Alina considered this for a moment and then nodded stiffly.    
  
“Fine”    
  
Behind her, Loki tensed. It wasn’t ‘if’ it was ‘when’ she acquired another stone. He calmed himself by thinking that when that was to happen, he would make damn certain he was accompanying her to Asgard.    
  
“Well, in that case, we are sorry for the intrusion at your expense. I really did see the entire thing going quite differently”   
  
“Can you take the roof exit this time” Fury said, huffing out of the room with a curious Coulson and Hill to fix the damage done downstairs.    
  
“It is good to see you and Thor are happy still” Frigga said as she spoke to Jane whilst Thor had a word with his father. Alina still stood slightly off to the side, tense. Her worry of the stones had only been amplified by this wholly unnecessary visit. Frigga approached her from behind and looked at the girl.    
  
“Thank you for looking after Loki. He is so much better with you” she whispered as she pulled Alina in for a embrace. Realising the purposeful subtlety, Alina only nodded and gave the Queen a smile before she moved on to speak to Loki in the corner. She drew him slightly further away from the group before beginning to speak with him. 

  
“You love her” she said simply    
  
“I do no such thing. She is a mortal girl” Loki feigned disgust but he felt his eyes soften as he glanced over at Alina as she spoke quietly with Rogers and Banner    
  
“Stop trying to delude yourself Loki, it will only hurt you both more in the long run”   
  
“I have no idea what you are talking of”   
  
Frigga gave him a knowing smile. Her Son was so stubborn sometimes.    
  
“She is strong, resilient and collected but she has a kind heart and a pure spirit. Do not allow your prejudices to blind you from someone who is clearly making a difference in you my son”    
  
Loki looked at his mother and sighed. She knew him far too well sometimes but he refused to accept what he felt was love for the girl. She was mortal, it would only hurt him. He just wanted to play around with her a bit, he told himself.   
  
“Be safe” he replied simply    
  
Thor and Odin rejoined the group and he and Thor accompanied their parents to the roof, leaving the others in the skylounge. They watched as Heimdall called the bifrost to return Odin and Frigga to Asgard and then turned away from what was meant to be a helipad. As they walked towards the door leading back inside, Thor looked to his brother.    
  
“Do you think father was resolute in his decision? We both know it is a matter of time”    
  
“I do not know but I know she will not be harmed at Asgard’s hands” Loki said, stalking back into the building.    
  
The entire group spent the rest of the night gossiping about Loki and Thor’s parents and their new found impressions of them. They all came to the agreement that Odin was a giant dick, much to Loki’s pleasure. Jane seemed to be the most pissed off with the King and went on a 20 minute long rant about his disrespect and idiocracy which only made Loki grin more. At last, he finally felt like he was not outnumbered or left out in his ideas and thoughts.    
That evening as they all departed to go to bed, he ran into Alina in one of the many hallways. She smiled at him, looking incredibly exhausted and he realised the energy used today as well as the lack of sleep must of completely drained her. As she continued past him, he grabbed her forearm and she looked up at him with a raised eyebrow. Without thinking, he pulled her into a hug which to his surprise, she accepted, wrapping her arms around his waist.    
  
“Thank you.. for today” he said quietly into her hair    
  
“What I said was true” she murmured into his chest    
  
Slowly he let go of her and she backed up, turning around and walking away down the hallway. As he watched her leave, he cursed his foolish heart and mind.    



	28. Pranks

“Yeah and I remember Steve getting beat up in these alley and the idiot just kept standing back up” Bucky said across the table. Nat, Alina and Sam had decided to take Bucky and Steve out for Thai food since they were yet to try it. Bucky was intent on embarrassing Steve. The group was laughing and Steve was taking his roast with good humor. 

“Hey I had him on the ropes!” 

“The ropes as in a piece of string? Because you were getting your ass kicked!” 

“It’s hard to imagine Steve getting his ass kicked by anyone” Natasha said over a mouthful of her Kuay Tiew 

“Oh man you should have seen the kid. Argued with anything” Bucky grinned 

“So no different from usual?” Sam asked with a smile 

“Hey watch it” Steve laughed 

“So how do you two actually know each other?” Alina asked Steve and Sam 

Steve’s smile turned into a broad grin and Sam glared at him. 

“Don’t say it”

“On your left” Steve spoke anyway

“Ok so that makes no sense” Alina said 

“He couldn’t keep up with me running around DC” Steve laughed 

“You’re a fricken super soldier, it wasn’t fair” Sam complained 

“He’s also an old man” Natasha pointed out, earning a smirk from Alina.

“The two 70 year olds” Alina added in

“And still in better shape than you three” Steve smirked 

“Excuse me, Nat and I could take the both of you down” Alina answered 

“You’re magical, it isn’t fair” Bucky said

“Steve is an enhanced human, how is that fair?” Nat pointed out

“Um.. what about me?” Sam asked

“You could video tape it” Natasha winked. 

“Hey I do remember you and Steve turning up on MY doorstep” Sam rolled his eyes 

//

“Mate why are we doing this again?” Bruce asked Tony

He, Clint and Tony were currently glad wrapping across all the doors whilst Loki and Thor watched, amused at their antics.

“Because Steve and Bucky will be SO confused and Nat, Sam and Alina will be fucking pissed” Tony grinned 

“You make it sound like Natasha pissed off is a good thing” 

“Yeah but it’s funny” Clint added 

“PRANK WAR” Tony smirked 

“And what is the purpose of this war?” Thor asked 

Tony turned around and Clint and Bruce stopped glad wrapping everything.

“Because it’s funny” he said 

“Ah shit what the fuck” 

Behind him, Rhodey had attempted to walk through the kitchen, distracted by his phone he had failed to notice the glad wrap on the upper part of the door, catching his face and tangling himself in the clear wrap.   
Tony and Clint burst into laughter and Thor soon joined them. Bruce leant against the wall with a small apologetic smile on his face as Rhodey attempted to detangle himself angrily. 

“I see the humorous effect my friends!” Thor said in between laughter 

“Amateurs” Loki rolled his eyes 

Tony glared at him, annoyed. Loki raised his eyebrows and with a flick of his hand, cleared the glad wrap from Rhodey’s face and shoulders. Rhodey thanked him and stepped into the living room, staring annoyed at Tony. With another flick of fingers, Loki replaced the glad wrap with realistic spider webs complete with massive spiders. Clint screamed and jumped backwards and Tony, Rhodey and Thor roared with laughter. Bruce even managed a chuckled before examining the spiders curiously. 

“That’s genius!” Tony squealed 

“It is basic magic” Loki shrugged

“They are real” Bruce said over his glasses

“More or less. I can make them disappear at will but yes, for your sake they are real” Loki grinned 

“That is too cool. WE HAVE TO DO NATS ROOM WITH WIDOW SPIDERS” Tony yelled 

“Those are widow spiders” Loki indicated to the doorway 

“Man you realise those things are poisonous” Clint added 

“We have antidote in the building…” Bruce said quietly 

“Good man!” Tony clapped Bruce on the shoulder

“Right then let's go tamper with her room. I know how to get it” Clint said, finally fully recovered from his spider scare. They left through the other door and spent a good half an hour with Loki spreading spiderwebs and spiders across Natasha’s room and through her bed. Tony had decided to glad wrap some of Nat’s belongings and across the cupboards just to prove himself. As they were doing this, they heard screams from the living room on the floor above. Tony, Thor, Clint and Rhodey burst into laughter and Loki wore a large smirk on his face at his handy work. They hurried back upstairs to find a commotion. Both Natasha and Alina were on the ground not far from the doorway, Bucky and Steve crouched over them shaking them gently whilst Sam smashed some of the spiders up with the kitchen broom. Loki dropped to his knees on one side of Alina and looked over both her and Natasha. Both women were half conscious and did not look like they were with the present, their eyes were hazed a little and they both looked to be in great pain. Loki realised quickly that the spiders had bitten them in the neck, straight into the bloodstream.

“Was this you!” Steve demanded 

Before he could answer, Tony stepped in. 

“Uh actually.. It was um my.. idea” 

Steve stood up angrily and Clint took his place, stroking Nat’s face gently. Bruce had run out of the room to grab antidotes from the lab and shook his head the entire way, he had seen this going wrong pretty quickly. Loki quickly got rid of the remaining spiders and web, and did the same to Nat’s room without budging an inch. 

“WHY did you think this would be a good idea” 

“Well to be fair it’s shut them both up” Tony grinned 

“Stark you could have gotten any of us killed” 

“I dont think the widow poison would really affect you or Bucky, Cap” 

“Yes but it does affect Alina and Natasha who walked in first and could have gotten Same” he growled 

“Hey we have an antidote it’s all fine!” Tony said, taking a sip of scotch. 

“That’s not the point!” 

Steve continued to berate Tony while Clint, Bucky and Loki knelt beside the girls anxiously. Bucky was positioned in between the two when he noticed Alina’s eyes flutter. Loki too noticed the girl moving slightly more than Natasha. With what seemed to be a forced effort, Alina reached out and touched Nat’s neck where she had been bitten. She stayed for a second and turned her eyes an Icy blue. Bucky, Loki and Clint’s eyes followed her arm down to her hand. 

“She’s freezing the bite- so it won’t hurt later I assume” Loki said with raised eyebrows 

“Why is she able to move but Nat can’t?” Clint asked, worriedly 

“Infinity stones. They probably have raised her immune system a little so she is not as affected by your general poisons and illnesses” 

Bruce pushed them out of the way hurriedly and proceeded to inject both women with a light blue liquid. He did so painfully slowly, pushing the needle into skin and loosening the liquid into their bodies. Once he had done both of them, he sat back on his haunches and took their pulses, watching as movement was restored to their bodies and they came out of their poison induced trance slowly. Natasha rolled onto her side with a groan and Clint laughed a little as she tried and failed to lift herself up. Alina laid on her back and turned her head toward Bucky, watching him in an assessing manner. He looked back at her with an equally even look and she laughed, bringing a finger up on her lips as if to silence herself. 

“Tony?” She asked, stopping the bickering going on between Sam, Tony, Rhodey and Steve. 

“Yeah?” 

“Do this again and I will personally smash up your entire lab” 

“Sorry” Tony offered cheekily 

“Not good enough” Natasha growled angrily as she came to properly

Tony began to laugh and Nat pulled a gun from her jeans, pointing it at Stark’s extensive liquor cabinet and shooting out his favourite and most expensive bottles of scotch. They shattered in the air, scotch spraying all over the bar and floor. Two other bottles were knocked off the shelf from the force and fell to the floor, smashing.   
Tony screamed and tried to catch a bottle, failing miserably. Alina, Clint, Bucky, Sam and Thor burst into laughter and Loki grinned at the payback. Rhodey chuckled, his friend deserved it but he knew Tony would be complaining for weeks about the loss of his precious alcohol.   
Alina pulled herself into a sitting position and Loki crouched beside her, a hand protectively on her shoulder. Natasha, with the help of Clint, also managed to sit up and they continued to laugh at Tony. It was at this moment that Pepper walked in, arriving back from a business meeting with a corp tech giant. She stopped dead under the doorway where the spiders once hung and stared at Tony as he sat on the floor with the smashed bottles and spilled alcohol which had begun to drip down the steps. Steve explained what had happened a little earlier and she nodded, walking over to Tony. 

“They smashed by Scotch” he lamented 

Pepper looked down at him disapprovingly and then reached up to the shelf behind her, knocking two more bottles, whiskey this time, onto the floor by her feet. 

“NO” Tony screamed as they shattered 

“That’s what you get for putting people’s safety at risk” She lectured, annoyed at Tony’s dangerous antic. 

“Sorry about him” She smiled at the group

“That’s quite alright, Ma’am” Steve smiled, his hands in front of him. 

“I’ve told you countless times Steve, you can call me Pepper” She smiled back 

He nodded respectfully. 

“I am going to change” she continued 

“I’ll come with you” Tony said suggestively 

She turned around and stared at him. 

“No you will stay and clean this mess up” she said pointedly before leaving the room. For some reason Thor found this utterly hilarious and watched it with the utmost amusement as Tony sat defeated in his pile of shattered bottles and alcohol before pulling his friend to his feet and brushing him off with excess strength. Clint and Bucky helped Nat and Alina to their feet as they were still dizzy from the poison which was working it’s way through their bodies. 

Tony spent the best part of two hours cleaning up the bar area after Pepper had refused to let him call a cleaning service and had JARVIS bar Tony from doing so. He grumbled the entire time whilst the team went and did their own thing. Rhodey and Sam sat on the opposite side of the bar watching him, Steve and Bucky decided to go and do some training in prep for the upcoming mission Fury had dropped off that morning, Clint helped Natasha to her now spider free room, Bruce went up to the lab to write up all the paperwork that came with using the antidotes and Thor, Loki and Alina sat in the 2nd living room 2 floors below the sky lounge. 

That evening after Tony had quit sulking, Steve briefed them on a new team mission against Hydra. This time the base had been scouted and they were to be on guard for The Shadow in case he appeared at the base like he had last time. They were tasked with retrieving 3 Shield agents who had been taken hostage, before they released any classified information. It was an in, out mission and for once, Steve had a good feeling about it.


	29. Sam

The next day they were prepped and ready to leave. Alina and Nat were dressed in their full, modified shield suits and walked into the Quinjet still strapping guns and knives to their belts and into the back of their boots. 

“Told ya girls take forever to get ready” Clint teased and Alina pulled a gun out of it’s holster slightly in a threatening manner. She found herself glancing across at Loki to gauge his reaction and caught him staring already. She gave him a soft smile, inwardly berating herself for feeling the need to look to him first. He had become increasingly more distracting to her over the past week or so, especially since she had kissed him half drunk that night. A part of her blamed it on the alcohol but she knew she was deluding herself. In that moment she had wanted nothing more than to kiss him and she had. Thankfully, he had not mentioned it once which confirmed to her he thought of it as nothing. Shaking her head, she snapped out of her spiraling thought train of Loki and put herself in mission mode, allowing stats, facts and data of the base and Hydra to consume her thoughts. They were headed up to Alaska and sat quietly, feeling the change of temperature as a gauge to how close they were getting to their destination. Alina pulled on a pair of thick, flexible winter gloves as the temperature dropped to 4 degrees and Clint and Sam did the same. Natasha was smart enough to put hers on a good 15 minutes before they even felt the cold. She was Russian, she could practically hear the cold seeping in. 4km out from the drop point, they stood and allowed Steve to rebrief them. 

“Right, we’ve discussed the plan but I am going to say this again. There are THREE agents in there. No more, no less. Once we get them, we get out regardless and if The Shadow man appears we do NOT stop to chat” he demanded. 

“Or we kill him” Tony added cheerfully 

Steve rolled his eyes and looked to the ceiling in disdain. Tony was still sulking about his alcohol which wasn’t even his fault, it was Nat’s but for some reason he was getting the brunt of Tony’s attitude. 

“We’re right over drop point now” Agent Hill said, flicking a few levers and buttons. 

“Right, this is going to be one hell of a firefight so look out for eachother” Steve said before jumping out of the plane. They all followed. The drop was only about 9ft to the ground and they landed with as much stealth as possible. Unfortunately, Thor didn’t quite get the memo and landed with a huge thump and a few lightning sparks. Steve raised his eyebrows and Thor shrugged back apologetically. Almost immediately after their unspoken exchange, they were being fired at. The hulk leapt out of the Quinjet and began smashing turrets, leaving a trail of destruction for them to follow through. Rhodey and Tony gave surveillance on the base which was mounded with the snow which continued to fall. Clint sat in a nearby tree, sniping people out with his arrows. Nat, Steve and Bucky teamed up taking down agents whilst Sam, Alina and Loki took the East side entrance. Loki and Alina bounced magic off each other giving a clear route for Sam to move through and take out any still standing agents. Steve, Buck and Nat all caught up to them and Natasha and Bucky quickly hacked the entrance doors, rolling them open in a matter of minutes. 

“Subtle” Tony said over the coms as Hulk climbed the side of the base and ripped apart more gunners. Thor was right behind him, disposing of any cowering agents still left in the partially destroyed gunner bases.

Steve lead the way inside, his shield raised and Bucky and Natasha at either side, slightly behind him. Loki’s group followed up the back, protecting their rear from any soldiers coming through from behind attempting to box them in. Coming to a fork in the corridors, Bucky, Alina and Sam took one way and Loki, Natasha and Steve the other. Loki had protested being separated from Alina but Steve had made the compelling argument that each group should have a magic user with them as well as someone who was familiar with Hydra. He reluctantly agreed.

“Can you sense anything?” Sam asked as they walked through the corridors 

“That is NOT how it works” she glared at him 

Bucky smirked and raised his gun, shooting down a lone soldier who had appeared from round a corner in front of them. As they rounded the corner they checked their backs and moved slowly, progressing into a room full of computer equipment and wires. It was dim and if they did not know people had occupied the building, it would have looked abandoned. As Alina kicked some wires out of the way and they snooped around, Sam tapped an old laptop. 

“Well it doesn’t look like they’re in here” he said, continuing to flick and tamper with the abandoned computers. Bucky looked up at him and then stopped, staying very still and looking to be listening for something. 

“Wait. I know rooms like these. They’re meant to be a decoy, there might be a hidden door around here somewhere” 

“And how are we meant to find that?” Sam asked 

“I dont know, just touch lots of stuff” Alina said 

Sam immediately ruffled her hair. 

“Not me! The computer's or something!” She laughed 

“On it” he replied with a crooked grin 

Bucky laughed at their antics and began pushing on the walls, attempting to see if any of them sounded hollow. He knew they would be reinforced but it was worth a try. After 15 minutes, Sam began to get annoyed and lazily kicked a computer which sat on the floor against a wall on the south side. It began to creak and make cracking noises. He jumped back in surprise and Alina and Bucky stood either side of him, watching in earnest. 

“PLEASE be a secret door” Sam muttered and Bucky glanced at him. 

It swung open backwards, revealing spiral stone steps downwards. They exchanged a look before Bucky shrugged and gestured to Alina. 

“Ladies first” he grinned 

“I dont see why you’re not going down first then” she quipped back 

“Well mainly because you are the only one that can process a shield that stops bullets. I’ll bring up the back end” he said 

“As usual” Sam winked and Bucky raised an eyebrow before giving Sam a playful shove down the stairs. Alina raised her gun, walking with slow calculated steps down the stairs. Bucky too had his gun raised but ready to shoot behind them in case they were followed or trapped down here. Rounding the corner, they were fired at and Alina pulled up a forcefield to block their shots before shooting round it with her own weapon. There were only 5 people in there, 3 of which were scientists which Alina reluctantly shot down. The 2 others seemed to be higher up Hydra officials which Bucky took out cleanly over Alina’s shoulder.

“Aw come on guys leave some action for me” Sam grinned 

“You’d be dead if we did that” Bucky teased and Sam huffed. 

It appeared to be some sort of Lab with various equipment and test readers. Alina began reading some results from a laptop while Sam and Bucky did room surveillance. In the center was a purple stone which was levitated inside a forcefield like protection case. Stepping over the bodies in the room, Sam peered at it. 

“Is Hydra branching out into Jewellry stores now? Buy your sweetheart a gem and then viciously murder and experiment on her. She’ll love you for it!” Sam said in a mock infomercial voice. Alina and Bucky snorted with laughter. 

“They might actually be more successful at their jobs there” Alina quipped in, still reading over lab results and information, memorising a much as possible and then plugging in a USB to drain the data. Leaving the information uploading into the external storage they had brought, Alina wandered over to wear Bucky and Sam were admiring the stone. It was fizzling ever so slightly and changing between a liquid form and it’s solid, stone like form. Bucky attempted to touch the Hydra forcefield around it but it simply attempted to blast him backwards. 

“Another Infinity Stone?” he asked 

“Maybe. It’s hard to tell without knowing specifically what each one looks like. They tend to vary in shape, size, colour and free form from what I can tell” Alina answered 

“So this isn’t where the prisoners are being held obviously” Sam said 

“No it isn’t. There are no holding cells” Bucky answered 

“But the information on their drives down here could be useful for our work. It should take another 10 minutes tops to get all the information and then we can continue down that corridor we were on before that top room” Alina replied 

“In the meantime, we could try get this thing. It looks like a power source” Bucky said, indicating to the gem. 

“I ain’t touching that thing” Steve said

Bucky waved his metal arm with a lopsided grin. 

“We have the 3 SHIELD agents! Extracting now!” Steve crackled through the coms 

“I’ll have a look through their systems and see if their is a lock system or a code to lower that protective field. We’ll be a few minutes Steve, just stealing data, the usual.” Alina smiled 

“Yes ma’am” Bucky and Sam said in unison, standing to strict attention with grins on their faces. As she was sorting through Hydra’s security data, disabling as many things as she came across they heard sirens from upstairs. Looking at one another, they froze and Alina rejoined Bucky and Sam next to the gem. In a matter of seconds, footsteps were thundering down the stairs and they were overwhelmed with Hydra soldiers firing at them. Alina raised her own forcefield but knew they could not stand in impasse forever. Chaos ensued as Bucky and Sam took plunged into the soldiers, taking them down as quickly as possible but more kept coming. A few snuck around the sides, behind Alina and while the three were distracted disabled the field around the gem. One of them grabbed it with a gloved hand and it fizzed and crackled, melting and steaming into its liquid ether form. The man who had been holding it looked up at Alina and they made eye contact. As they locked eyes, the man threw the ether form toward Alina. Backed against a wall, she had nowhere to dive out of the way and pressed herself back. Bucky and Sam had just finished off the remaining Hydra men when Sam saw what was happening. In a split second, he jumped using his wings and rolled in front of Alina. The ether met him and he felt it make it’s way through his mouth and into his body. Before he could process what he had done or what was happening, he blacked out. Alina screamed for Sam to stop even as she saw him make the decision to jump but it was too late. To her horror she observed the Ether wrap it’s way around his body and then in through his nose and mouth. Before he had even hit the ground, he was unconscious. Bucky disposed of the man who had through it and crouched down next to Sam who had broken out in a sweat. Alina took his pulse as he tossed a little. It was there but it was erratic and random. She looked up to Bucky with wide, guilty eyes. 

“Sam’s down” She yelled through her coms

“We’ve lost Wilson!” Bucky repeated 

“What? What happened? Is he shot?” Steve yelled back, crackling in their ears

“We found another stone I think anyway.. Sam.. he absorbed it.. jumped in front of me” Alina panted back, the room was beginning to heat up. 

“Get him out of there now” Loki said 

“We’re currently on our way out of the building with the 3 Shield Agents. Take Sam and meet us where we came in” Natasha continued 

“On our way” Bucky replied, picking Sam up in his arms and standing up. As he made his way to the stairs, Alina clicked the computer a few times and pulled out the USB, taking the lead in front of Bucky. Making their way back down the corridors, they met a few soldiers but Alina took them out quickly and efficiently, determined to get Sam out of there as quickly as possible. As they came towards the main entrance, they saw Steve and Loki waiting with three very dirty and bruised up SHIELD agents. As they made their way around to them, they were cut off by another wave of soldiers. Sick of their stoppages and desperate to get Sam on a medical unit, Alina sent a deadly wave of energy towards them, completely wiping the men out. Bucky carried Sam out and Alina followed behind, shooting out anyone who dared to come around the corner. As Bucky spoke quietly to Steve while Loki worked some magic on Sam, Alina hacked back into the HYDRA systems and sealed the door, stopping any soldiers from coming out of the building. 

“Nat?” she asked, turning around

“Back at the jet. She had to go calm Banner down” Steve reported. Bucky picked Sam back up in his arms and they ran towards the Jet which Hill had landed in the snow 500m away. Back at the Quinjet, the rest of the team were waiting and looked concerned as Bucky carried a limp Sam in. Bruce, although exhausted, quickly stood and hooked Sam up to an IV and monitor. Bucky proceeded to explain what had happened as they took off. Alina sat in the corner, her head leant against the wall watching Sam with a level of distress that they had yet to see in her. 

“It’s definitely the Ether, I checked on the way out” Loki said to Thor who had given him a tell tale look. The group began discussing options and Tony called in Dr. Cho just in case she saw something they were unable to but Thor and Loki were well aware how difficult it was to draw the Ether out of a person without getting them killed. It seemed to be just using Sam as vessel, the same way the reality stone ether had used Jane. Unfortunately they did not have a convergence anytime soon so could not pull that stunt again. As they spoke, Rhodey kicked off at Alina in the corner. They turned around to listen as the pair’s voices began to rise. 

“What kind of stupid stunt was that?” Rhodey asked angrily 

“It was NOT a stupid stunt” Alina replied 

“You should have done something. You’re more than capable of it!” Rhodey yelled 

“There was little I could do in such a small space of time! Infinity Stones are unstable Rhodey! I could have accidentally killed the entire room had I tried to stop the new Ether form!’ She growled back

“So you just let Sam end up like this?!” 

“HE jumped. I didn’t ask him to and I did not have the time or space to pull him out of the way!” 

“Don’t be fucking ridiculous! How can you call yourself an Avenger if you cant even protect your team members!” he yelled 

“I DONT call myself an Avenger! I’m not one in case you forgot that Rhodey. I’m SHIELD’s weapon. Nothing more, nothing less!” 

“Damn right you’re not an Avenger! You just get people killed. A wake of fucking destruction you are. You’d think a weapon would be more useful!” 

“I know” she replied quietly, in a defeated tone 

“Enough Rhodey. That was completely out of line” Steve said, pulling him backward roughly by the shoulder as Rhodey in his anger had advanced upon Alina rapidly.

“Calm the fuck down” Tony added in, supporting Steve. 

Alina leant against the wall, her head thrown back looking at the ceiling silently. 

“It wasn’t your fault” Bucky offered quietly 

“Yeah it fucking was” Rhodey said from across the jet 

Natasha who was sat down to the side of him, got up and whacked him round the head with enough force to rock him forward. 

“It was Hydra’s fault, not anyone’s in this teams’. Speak to her like that again and next time I will not be so gentle” she hissed

“I’d listen to her” Clint continued

Alina hadn’t answered nor had she moved from her position. Thor placed a hand on her shoulder as gently as he knew how. 

“It was not a fault of your own, Lady Alina” He rumbled 

She kicked herself off the wall and looked up at him. Her entire face was blank, not even Natasha could read any emotion off of it. It was the look of someone who had seen too much and was well trained in hiding. She sighed inwardly and reminded herself to kick Rhodey’s ass later on by ‘accident’. 

“How long until the Ether begins to shut down his body?” She asked Loki blankly 

“I’d say 36 to 48 hours” 

“And until death?” 

“Depending on how his mortal body holds up, 4 days at most” 

She nodded and looked at Sam who was covered in sweat before sitting down next to Bucky and Steve who every now and again, attempted to offer some support which she rejected. 

Upon arriving back at the tower, Sam was hooked up to their medical units and Doctor Cho was looking over him. Thor had called in Jane and Erik to see if any of their research could help either. As they stood in the room, Rhodey kicked off again in anger at seeing his friend lying there. 

“Well I am sure this wouldn’t have been a goddamn problem if someone could do their job properly” he hissed in answer to Dr. Cho’s comment about the complications of Sam’s body. 

“Rhodey.” Tony said seriously 

“No. She knows this was her fault” Rhodey growled back

“Thank you Rhodey for the constant reminder that I tend to get people killed” Alina hissed, her temper rising a little. 

“Well it seems you need reminding a little more often! What was it? Your parents first? Then friends, your own police partner, New York? Now a fucking Avenger!” Rhodey yelled 

The entire room froze. He had taken it a step too far and everyone knew it. Not even Steve dared to speak in that moment as Alina stared at Rhodey. To their surprise however, she did not attack him nor did she yell. 

“Yes It was my parents first” she said simply 

“Well congratulations, you can add Sam to your list you magical freak” 

“He’s not dead yet” 

“He’s as good as it!” 

“Good to see you have some faith in your team members” Alina raised her eyebrows

“All of them except you. From day one you’ve been fucking things up! You know what you are. You’re just a weapon for Shield to use at their leisure! That’s the only reason they haven't sent any of us to kill you” 

“Well then maybe one of you should” She replied with a hardened look 

Rhodey looked a little taken aback at her comment and stopped. 

“You will not speak of Lady Alina in such a way!” Thor roared, taking Rhodey by the neck and raising him into the air

“Whoa there big guy” Tony said

“Enough. Thor put him down” Steve said as Thor lowered Rhodey to the ground. 

“Rhodey, come with me. You need to be reprimanded” Steve continued, taking Rhodey out of the room. Alina stood for a moment before walking out of the opposite doors. 

“Weapon…” she murmured as she left

“Alina..” Bucky tried but she ignored him, pushing her way out of the medical room. Loki sighed a little and followed her. The rest of the team sat down quietly, exhausted at the confrontation. 

Alina stalked past Steve and Rhodey. Steve went to stop her but she brushed past him.Seconds later, Loki followed. Steve game him a sympathetic smile but Loki returned it with a concerned look.   
Loki finally caught up with her 3 hallways later. He grabbed her by the forearm, stopping her from proceeding forward but she did not turn around. Uncertain of what to do, he simply stood there holding onto her forearm while she stood with her back to his. She did not even try to rip her arm out of his hand, she just stood somewhat defeated in the empty and quiet hallway. 

“You are not a weapon” Loki said firmly 

“Really? Because if it hadn’t of been for the stones you and Thor would not have found me. Your father would have no interest in me, neither would the rest of Asgard, SHIELD would have largely left me alone and Sam would not be half dead right now” she said without looking at him 

“I would never let anyone harm you” Loki replied 

“It’s not people harming me you have to worry about. It’s me harming them” 

“You think you’re a monster” he whispered 

“Rhodey was right” she said back 

“He was not right” Steve said, rounding the corner

They both turned to look at him, Bucky was by his side. 

“You aren’t our weapon Ali. I know what it is like to be used as a weapon, as an asset but you are not.” Bucky murmured. 

“And Rhodey has been reprimanded and taken off our next mission due to his behaviour” 

“It does not make his words any less true” Alina said to Steve before pulling herself out of Loki’s grip and continuing down the hallway to her room. 

Loki stared after her with a distraught expression on his face. Bucky put a hand on his shoulder and gave a weak smile. 

“She’ll come round”

14 hours later, Alina was sat beside Sam. The monitor was the only sound in the room as Loki walked slowly into the medical facility. She had been in there for 10 hours, just looking at Sam and monitoring his vitals. The team were beginning to worry, she was taking it hard and it was unexpected. Most of them believed it was Rhodey’s harsh words which had caused such a strong reaction in her. She did not even look up as Loki entered the room and he sighed, pulling her to her feet by her arms and marching her out of there, despite her protests. He lead her down a hallway and to her room, closing the door behind them and sitting her down roughly on her bed. 

“You need to sleep” he said, standing in front of her. She stood up hastily to face him but he pushed her back down. 

“Loki please let me go back. I cant sleep” she begged

“No. You at least need rest, a distraction, anything but that” he replied 

“You dont under-” she began

“I understand perfectly” he cut her off 

She stood up again and he sighed pushing her firmly back down. She grabbed onto him, trying to stay standing but instead he fell back onto the bed, on top of her. Breathing a little heavier, Alina froze, still clinging onto his leather sleeves. He had one arm positioned above her head, propping him up slightly and the other by her side. Neither of them moved, staying completely still for a good 30 seconds before Loki threw all caution to the wind and pressed his lips against hers. To his pleasant surprise she wrapped one hand in his hair and pulled him down closer to her, responding to his kiss with enthusiasm. He grinned into the kiss with the realisation she was neither intoxicated nor was she under an enchantment. With his free hand he played with the hem of her jeans and deepened the kiss, pressing his tongue against her lips. She refused him entrance and he pulled back to look at her. She smirked a little and he realised she had taken control of the kiss and the situation. With a raised eyebrow, he wrapped the hand near her head around her neck and she opened her mouth a little before closing it quickly. Her eyes hazed over just a tiny bit as she struggled to regain some sort of control on him. He returned her previous smirk and kissed her. This time when she refused him entrance, he squeezed her neck just a little bit and her lips parted in a gasp. As he ran his spare hand down her body, she moaned against his lips. Recognizing this, he immediately stopped this kiss. She whined a little and he grinned, moving his lips down across her jaw and along her neck. Without warning, he bit down. 

“Loki!” she gasped, wriggling a little in his grip. 

“Mmm” he hummed back continuing his trail of bites and kisses along her neck and collarbone. 

“I..Mnf” she gasped 

“What darling?” he murmured smugly against the top of her shirt, teasing as he reached the top of her bra before moving back up again. Her only answer was a gasp as she threw her head back. 

“Mmmn you have to beg if you want any more” he grinned into her neck

“I-in your d-dreams” she gasped out 

“Stubborn we thing” 

“I.. mmg” she moaned as he sucked on her neck, moving his free hand up her legs, just missing where she wanted his hands so badly. 

“Beg for it” he demanded 

“no” she mumbled back, kissing his neck. 

He chuckled at her attempt to gain the upper hand and simply pinned her back down on the bed, playing loosely with the top of her shirt. She whined again, wriggling against his teasing. She was far too proud and stubborn to beg and Loki knew it, he just wanted to see her submit to him as he drove her further and further into pleasure. Again, he had her gasping and moaning under him as she began to lose complete and utter control. He relished her wide eyes and panted gasps as he squeezed her neck or kissed along her shoulders and collarbone. As he slipped his hand under her shirt, JARVIS spoke. 

“Mr Laufeyson, Miss Everton, Mr Wilson’s condition has worsened and you are requested in the medical facility rooms” 

Loki pulled back, disappointed that he did not get to continue his teasing and Alina sat up, shaking her head as if to rid herself from the haze she had been in. Without saying a word, they exited the room, straightening their clothing and headed up to the Med bay.


	30. Checkmate

Entering the medical rooms, it was silent and the team stood waiting for them. 

“Sam?” Alina asked 

“Not good. It looks like the Ether has completely taken control of his body, his organs are beginning to shut down. If we don’t do something in the next 3 hours, all his vitals will be unresponsive” Bruce answered over a clipboard 

Alina did not answer, she just looked at Sam long and hard. 3 hours was not enough. 

“What about what you did with me?” Jane asked Thor. She liked Sam and she knew his death would be a huge loss for the team. Surely they could draw the Ether from him the same way Thor and Loki had done from her. 

“We’d need a convergence and another one isn’t due to happen for at least 1000 years” Thor answered 

“We would also need another body to transfer the Ether across to and it would kill them” Loki continued 

Alina’s head snapped up. She had been looking to the floor, thinking and she now looked to Sam who had gone slightly grey and was drenched in sweat. 

“Whatever you’re thinking of doing, do it quick” Bruce said, recognising her look 

“Jane did you and Erik ever get round to finish that energy stabilizer?” Alina asked 

“Uh yeah we did. Why?” 

“Get it. Quickly” 

Jane took one look at her and sprinted at full tilt out of the room to fetch the device and Erik who would undoubtedly want to see whatever was about to happen. Alina began rearranging Sam’s drips and IV cords. She worked quickly and focused intently on what she was doing. 

“Uh.. what are we doing?” Tony asked 

“WE aren’t doing anything” Alina answered, continuing to rearrange things 

“Ok what are YOU doing?” Steve asked 

“You need another body to transfer the energy across to, well here I am” she muttered 

“No. That will not work Alina” Loki growled 

“Course it will”

“If it doesn’t kill you, it may kill Son of Will” Thor tried to reason

“That’s what the energy stabilizer is for smart ass. Hook it up to his cardiovascular system and his blood regulators and as the energy is transferred from him to me, the energy will remain concentrated and stable until it leaves his body” 

“Brilliant!” Tony grinned 

“Except what happens when the destabilized energy reaches you?” Bucky asked 

“We’ll find out” she shrugged 

“It could kill you.” Loki deadpanned 

“None of the other stones have so far”

“This is the power stone, we do not know what it might do” Thor said gently 

“We can find another way” Bucky said

“This is my fault. I’ll fix it” she growled 

“It’s not your fault” Steve began

“Sam doesn’t deserve this” she muttered back

“Neither do you!” 

“I deserve it more than he does” she yelled 

Before Steve, or anyone else, could continue their argument Jane and Erik bustled in with an odd contraption complete with sci-fi looking buttons and wires. Alina explained her plan to Erik and Jane who simply nodded and began hooking the wires up to Sam and his vitals. Erik could see the girl was set on her decision and as Steve went to stop her, make her think she blocked him with a forcefield. He jumped back a little, shocked at her hostile use of her magic. 

“Don’t” she growled, leaving the field up to prevent anyone from interfering. 

“Alina this is fucking ridiculous!” Loki yelled. She had thoroughly blocked out his magic and stared back at him with a pained look on her face. 

“We’re operational” Erik said and Alina turned her back to Loki and the rest of the group, her shoulders falling a little. Erik and Jane stepped back behind the machine and Alina took Sam’s hand, looking down at him with a determined resolve. This was her mess to clean up. 

“There’s something more to this” she muttered to herself before nodding to Jane. 

“You sure?”   
“Flip the switch, Doc” Alina smiled, her eyes lighting up and flicking between Green, Blue and Gold. Jane pulled the switch and cowered back next to Erik. Sparks flew into the air from the machine and Alina began to be surrounded by a golden glow. The gold ether slowly began to snake down her arms onto Sam’s, twirling around before dancing back up her arm and around her body. The Space Stone Ether did the same and then the Soul Gem Ether. Soon she was surrounded by Ether forms and The Avengers could feel the heat of her power coming back towards them. Sam seemed to gasp and arch his back. Seconds later, his eyes were wide open as he gasped for air. Jane and Erik began messing with the machine, keeping the energy labels stabilized. They stopped as a purple glow formed above Sam’s mouth. It continued to form, swirling into a liquidated form and twisted into the air, hovering above Sam who had relaxed back into his hospital bed. Alina watched the purple Aether, transfixed. With a shaky breath, she reached out and very delicately connected one fingertip with the edge of it. There was a moment of complete stillness, an almost fixed tranquility, before the purple Aether whipped up her arms, over her thinly clad shoulders and through her nostrils and mouth. She cried out in an intense pain and dropped to her knees, clutching her head. Loki made a move forward against the force field she had created but his magic was still blocked. 

“ALINA” he yelled as she seemed to choke a little. 

Jane made a move forward toward Alina but Erik grabbed her, dragging her back. Alina motioned with one hand for her to stay back, looking up at Jane with a pained expression. Falling on her side, she convulsed a little, arching backwards and gasping for air. Bucky screamed at her but she was putting all her energy into keeping them back with her magic. Suddenly, she went still. Steve seemed to panic a little at this and hit against the force field. With a laboured effort, Alina rolled onto her back, staring up at the ceiling and then sitting up, propping herself against the wall. 

“Sam’s vitals are back! His organs are fully functioning and he has a normal heartbeat” Jane said uncertainly, looking over his vitals and listening to the monitor. Alina dropped the shield and the avengers made their way forward. As Bruce confirmed Jane’s claims, Loki pulled Alina to her feet roughly. To everyone’s surprise his voice was laced with poison as he spoke. 

“What the FUCK do you think you are playing at girl?” 

“Sam is fine” Alina answered, a little confused 

“And you could have gotten yourself killed! You have a complete lack of judgement or authority!” He growled 

“Oh yeah right because you don’t!” she argued 

“At least I dont pull shit like that. You’re endangering us all” 

“Excuse me but I just made sure Sam didn’t die! I only endangered myself” 

“You understand nothing!”   
“Maybe because you are such a vague prick, Loki” she replied evenly 

“Don't get all like this!” he yelled 

“LIKE WHAT LOKI!?” 

 

“Pretending like you don't care! God you are stupid!” 

“Why do you care so much!?” 

“Because we need you! You’re so selfish” he growled out, getting angrier and angrier and disregarding the fact that she had no knowledge of the prophecy. 

“You know for once I thought you actually gave a shit about your fellow team members Loki but obviously you’re too self absorbed in your own damn agenda to think of anything else.” she growled

This hit a chord with him. 

“You mean nothing to me you pathetic girl” he hissed viciously 

She looked visibly shocked and hurt at this. He felt guilty at the look of betrayal on her face and her honest eyes hardened over. 

“I never thought I meant anything anyway” she said back, her tone and voice completely even and unbreaking. At this, she pushed past him roughly and exited the room.   
Loki stood still staring at the wall in shock of the exchange that had just occurred. Not 30 minutes ago was he kissing her and now, this. He feared he may have truly caused her to resent him, he had never seen a look like that before in his life. Not even from his own brother or father. She hadn’t yelled or fought him, she had simply accepted the fact that he didn’t care and that’s what bothered him most. Her acceptance. He sighed and turned around to face the rest of the Avengers only to find to his relief that they had crowded around Sam, who was coming to consciousness. Thor met his eyes and gave him a sympathetic look which only pissed him off more. What did he care if the girl was being a little bitch? She was a mortal, stubborn, headstrong and virtuous. He was better off without her making stupid decisions all the time anyway. Slamming a door open, he left the room. 

The upcoming mission was postponed until Sam recovered and Alina and Loki were still remaining hostile to one another. When they were forced to interact, they would do so formally and with such tension a spoon could probably cut it. Toward the end of the week, the atmosphere seemed to loosen up as Sam returned to training. However, Thor in particular was worried at Loki refusing to train Alina, especially with the acquisition of a new stone. The power stone seemed to be draining her energy rapidly and at one point during training she collapsed to her knees after a fit of dizzy spells while helping Tony, Steve and Natasha dodge her attacks. When Steve went to help her up, she laid on the ground for a solid 2 minutes looking pale.   
She also appeared to be attempting to teach herself control of the stone but without Loki’s experience and guidance she only got so far. Loki walked into one of these sessions and saw her on the ground. Immediately he felt a pang of fear until he realised what was going on. 

“Get up and stop being weak” he taunted 

She looked up at him from her hands and knees and set her jaw. Evidently exhausted and weak, she got to her feet shakily and stood to take another round of drones. Steve watched on worriedly. After disposing of the first few, she began to get overwhelmed and the room swam. Unexpectedly, she blasted a powerful hit of purple energy out at the drones and then hit the floor, gasping and shaking. 

“Weak” Loki muttered at her

She glared at him and with a last bout of energy, threw him backwards off his feet with a huge wave of energy, combining 2 of the stones together. He slammed into the wall with such force he experienced whiplash, as well as shock. He smirked to himself. She was still as resolute and determined as ever. 

Steve and Thor had discussed taking her off the next mission but they both agreed she was more than capable and their next mission was a little less high tempo than the usual. They were acting as surveillance at a ball happening in Washington, DC. Tony, Bruce, Pepper, Jane, Thor, Loki and Sam would be attending as guests whilst Alina, Natasha, Clint would be working with the guards and police for the evening, as identifiable surveillance since they were all trained for it.   
The evening came round quickly and soon they were all standing in the hotel foyer that they were staying in, dressed to the nines. All the men wore perfectly fitted suits, courtesy of Tony and his obsession with aesthetic. Jane wore a beautiful, classic black gown which fitted in at her face and expanded out at the bottom. She looked like a modern Audrey Hepburn. Pepper on the other hand, wore a silky light blue dress with a loose sash around the waist and a plunging back which Tony approved of greatly. They looked like visions of elegance. Natasha was dressed in a fitted catsuit, Alina wore her fitted combat pants and black V neck as well as a waist belt complete with holster, gun, pepper spray and coms, and Clint was dressed in a similar black combat ensemble. Both Thor and Loki looked dapper in their suits and when catching eyes with Loki, Alina simply raised an eyebrow with apathy. 

The evening began pleasantly. It was meant to be a charity ball hosted by the high up senators and candidates running for positions but the Government had requested that SHIELD provided surveillance for the night. Fortunately, a few of the senators had already extended an invitation to Tony and his “Avenger Friends”. It was a good look to have the ‘world’s mightiest heroes’ endorsing you and with the rise of HYDRA activity in the capital, they had decided it was worth their while to attend, as well as being a good PR stunt. Thor. Bucky and Steve spoke to war veterans, some of which Steve and Bucky were surprised to actually recognise and know. Jane, Pepper, Loki and Bruce socialized at the bar and to everyone else's surprise, Loki did a good job at wooing the senators and other higher up officials. So much so that Tony decided to have him tag along with him for some of the evening to help him get deals with various people. Sam replaced Loki at the bar, keeping an eye out for Nat, Alina or Clint. He chuckled at the mass of people. Rhodey had been so pissed to have been taken off this mission and Sam found it absolutely hilarious. A few hours passed and speeches were given by running candidates as well as the sponsor of the event. They drawled on and on about respect and honour and The United States of America, much to everyone’s boredom and dismay. Once it was over, people were relieved to go back to drinking, partying and dancing. About 30 minutes before the event was due to finish, bangs were heard from outside in the entrance halls. People began backing away from the Entrance and all the Avengers heads watched the doors in preparation, moving to the front of the crowd. Tony did not have his suit at the event, nor did Sam, releasing the Hulk here would cause mass destruction, Steve did not have his suit or his Shield and Thor had left Mjolnir in the hotel as it drew too much attention. Slowly the doors opened and armed men walked through calmly. People began screaming and attempting to back away. Behind the men, in the entrance foyer were the littered bodies of the security guards and a few agents. Natasha and Clint were dragged through by their arms. Their mouths were taped shut and their hands tied behind their backs with an odd type of metallic looking rope. They were conscious and looked up at group with wide eyes, struggling against their bonds. Somehow, they had been ambushed. The Avengers knew that it took some skill to ambush either Clint or Natasha. 

A fight ensued. Tony, Sam, Steve and Bruce tried to move the civilians back away from the door and the armed men but without their suits they could do little. Bucky was thrown hard into a wall and had a powerful stun gun used on him. His hands were tied back as he was sat on a chair, back to back with Thor who had huge bonds placed on his wrists. The armed men began to circle around, boxing in the civilians and Tony, Sam, Steve and Bruce with it. Loki stood beside them, looking around for Alina and fearing the worst. 

“Nooow isn’t this nice!” A hauntingly high voice said from the banister at the top of the stairs. 

The Shadow. 

“Who are you?” Steve asked 

“Im The Shadow” he shrugged, sliding down the banister and jumping off at the bottom with a scary enthusiasm. 

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Tony demanded

“Well right now I am deciding which one of you to kill first” he grinned, waving a gun around in his hands dangerously before pointing it at Natasha mockingly. 

“Don’t you dare” Sam growled 

“Round them up and tie them down” he said. They were powerless to fight as they were forced at the head of guns to march towards Clint, Natasha, Bucky and Thor and be bound. More than anything, they knew that fighting would lead to a massacre. Loki however, escaped their capture easily and looked unimpressed at their attempts to stop him. He ended up standing in front of Thor and Bucky anyway, but at his own choice. The Shadow seemed to consider this before shrugging. 

“Now I am looking for something and you all are going to tell me where it is” he smiled smugly 

“And what would that be you son of a bitch?” Natasha said, her tape finally being removed. In truth, she had seen them coming earlier and had instantly known what they were after. She had commanded Alina to hide, to much argument. Yet as she had gone to alert the others she was knocked down. She just prayed the woman would do as she said. Pepper and Jane watched from the crowd of civilians and Tony and Thor hoped they would not be identified. 

“A beautiful thing. A girl. You know her” 

“No idea what you’re talking about, unless it’s me” Tony said sarcastically 

“LIAR! LIARS ALL OF YOU!” The man screamed, causing the guests to jump. 

“Well.. you know” Clint began 

“No matter. I think I have found something somewhat useful here anyway” The man looked to Loki who had been unwittingly boxed in. Behind him men stood with fully armed guards and in front of him stood The Shadow and more armed guards. 

“I’m no use to you” he snorted

“Mmn but I think it could be a useful bargaining chip if not for the Avengers but for the rest of the universe. I have a.. client.. if you will who would be interested in speaking to you” 

“Well that interest is not reciprocated” Loki replied 

The man sighed dramatically. 

“Don’t kill him, stun web” 

The men cocked their guns and as Loki braced for whatever was coming. He heard footsteps, fast and calculated. 

“No!” A desperate cry sounded 

What happened was over in a matter of seconds. Loki flinched back to realise nothing had hit him. Instead he stood behind a shimmering golden shield. At first he was pleased, Alina had come through but he soon realised it was not hers. This one was man made. Alina lay on the ground in front of it, on her side and half conscious. The stun web meant for him, had hit her as she had dived in front of him, blasting the men who where holding the team captive and killing them. Doing this, she had not the time to protect herself from any blows and had taken his. Thor snapped his braces and broke Bucky’s who helped untie everyone else.   
“Oh good” The Shadow said, smirking down at Alina from a few meters in front of her. She lay on the white tiled floor, half conscious and unable to defend herself. Two men threw their guns down and lifted her to her knees, holding her arms back as The Shadow approached. She looked up at him, dizzy from the both the stun and from her precise and large use of power against the HYDRA guards. 

“You know this is exactly how I saw this turning out! Oh I am pleased!” he continued 

Thor smashed against the shield and the man looked up at him amused, walking past Alina and coming right up against the shield, his face almost touching it. The men swung Alina around, half standing, half being supported so she was facing The Avengers. 

“Do you like it? It took forever to make. Nothing is going to get through this, not even Mr. Laufeyson heres magic” he smiled 

“You let her go!” Thor roared 

“Hm NO” The Shadow screamed back, turning around randomly and walking quickly and with large paces back to Alina. Without missing a beat he landed a blow across her face which whipped her head to the side. As she looked back up, her temple wore a cut which was dripping blood. 

“You see. I’ve been waiting and waiting and waiting for the right time and now I have it. I have her. I have a weapon. A pretty one at that. And, she is going to tell us everything” he smiled 

“Fuck off” Alina coughed. The man froze and turned slowly to face her. Without any warning, he landed a hard kick to her stomach and followed through with a slap to her face. He then grabbed her from the chin, squishing her cheeks slightly and forcing her head up to look at him. 

“You are nothing more than a weapon. You will do as you’re told pet” he grinned 

Her vision was blurring slightly and all she could do was glare. When he let go, the two men restraining her shoved her to her knees and one pulled a gun to the back of her head. She looked up, taking a look at the Avengers before the trigger was pulled and she fell forward onto the cold tiles. Sam screamed her name as she fell forward and Loki laid one fist against the shield, willing something to smash it. 

“Oh doooooon’t worry, it’s just a stun gun” he taunted, nudging her limp body with his foot. 

“You’re a monster” Nat said, eyeing him up and down. 

“Well now that I have what I need, I’ll leave you to your evening” 

“Know that if you take her, we will hunt you down and kill you” Tony threatened   
“I’m sure you would if you could find me” The Shadow laughed 

Bucky caught eyes with the man and held his gaze. He saw no life, no expression, nothing. It was the only time he had ever truly feared for someone’s life, their safety. Even when people had hurt Steve, they had emotion, humility but this man was empty, a sociopath. 

“And know that any pain you inflict on her, I will inflict on you in tenfold, in the slowest possible manner” he growled 

The man shrugged, laughing as he turned around and scooped up Alina’s limp body in his arms. One arm hung limp down while the other was across her chest almost protectively. Without a word, The Shadow began to walk away, out the back door with Alina in his arms and 13 HYDRA agents behind him. As he stepped out into the cold, he turned around slightly, looking over his shoulders. 

“You’ll never find me you know. You’ll never find her” he spoke in strange mocking tone which drawled out. 

And then he disappeared. 10 minutes later, the shield dropped and The Avengers sprinted out the back door only to find what they knew would be there all along; nothing. Not one thing, not even tire tracks to lead them somewhere. Inside, Jane embraced Thor. She was shaking slightly and Pepper made her way to Tony, laying a hand on his shoulder. 

“We’re getting her back” he spoke 

The hall was empty now other than themselves. The guests had run from the building as soon as the armed guards had left

“Tony…” Pepper said gently 

“No. No that bastard isn’t having her” 

“He’ll break her” Bucky said from the back, his voice bleak. Everyone’s heads turned to him. 

“Hey there’s still a chance. We can track the airspace around here, look at unregistered vehicles, pull up all our known HYDRA bases” Sam said, determinedly. 

“She won’t be there. The man is too smart. He probably already knows everything we know, he wouldn’t put her in any of those bases”

Loki said nothing, he was sat on the stairs looking at the smear of blood on the white tiles that was Alina’s. Over and over he was her throwing herself in front of him. Over and over he saw that vile, empty man slamming his fist over her head and drawing blood. And over and over again he saw himself telling her she meant nothing to him. Jane sat down beside him quietly and looked to where he was looking. 

“She’ll be ok” 

“If I had trained her, she would have been able to fight back. But I didn’t. I let her be exhausted by the power stone instead of teaching her the necessary control and now she’s.. she” he couldn’t finish the sentence 

“Brother, you did not know this would happen” Thor offered 

“I’ve called Fury. He’s sent Hill to get all our things and the jet should be here in 10 minutes. SHIELD evac teams are coming in to forensics the scene and take the security footage” Natasha said 

Loki stood up. All he could feel was a sinking guilt. He had watched Alina be tazed not just once but twice. He had seen the blood drip from her mouth and the hidden pain in her eyes as the second slap was delivered and worst of all, he had seen it all knowing she thought he despised her. 

“We’re gonna get her back” Steve said quietly to him as they walked outside. He knew all about watching someone you loved suffer and despite all of Loki’s actions in the past, he had really seen a change in him and he really did see the affection Loki held for the charismatic girl. 

“Either way she will suffer because of me, Captain” he almost sounded mournful and at this, Bucky punched a lamp post with his metal arm, denting it almost at a 40 degree angle. 

“If they lay a finger on her I am going to personally dismember all of them” he growled at the lamp post 

“Hey Buck, calm down we are going to get her” 

“What we need to do right now is find out everything on the bastards” Sam added

The quinjet landed and a medical team was on board. They set to treating Natasha and Clint who had been hit the hardest and then moved through the group. Clint remained quiet. Alina had become like a little sister to him and to see the look in her eyes as she felt that gun come to her head was heartbreaking for him. Across from him Tony was equally quiet, not even Pepper tried to talk him out of it, she simply leant her head against his arm. She knew Tony thought of Alina like a rebellious daughter figure in a way and she understood how Tony may have felt like he had let her down.   
On the jet back to the tower, each of them felt Alina’s absence in their own way but there was one thing they where united on: 

They were going to get her back.


	31. Round 1 and 2

Surprisingly, Rhodey took the news of Alina’s kidnapping quite hard. As they watched the security footage, scouring for clues, he had clenched his fists into balls, his jaw tense and his eyes hard. Although he did not like her as much as he liked the rest of the team, no one deserved what happened and what was going to happen to her. They had all been transferred to SHIELD HQ so they could use the tracking systems available there. It was less homely than the tower but right now being in the tower would only amplify Alina’s absence.   
An entire day had passed since the Charity Ball and they still had nothing. Over and over they scoured the security footage yet there was not one identifiable thing in them to give even a hint of were they had gone after leaving. They were gathered in the main hall, in front of screens which monitored air spaces, suspicious vehicles and HYDRA activity, speaking with Fury and Coulson when JARVIS interrupted. 

“Excuse me, but you have an incoming video live stream” 

“Pull it up on the main screen JARVIS” Tony said, thinking it was something from Pepper. 

The screen flicked on. Strapped to a reclined chair sat Alina, her head sideways and her chin almost touching her shoulder. Her hair had fallen in front of her face and the room she was in seemed to be completely grey brick. Their breath caught in their throats. 

“Track this! I want this link tracked!” Fury commanded 

The video was live and in such high resolution they were almost able to pick out threads on her clothing. The door in front of her opened and in walked that vile man, accompanied by 3 heavily armed and bulked up guards. The Shadow stood in front of Alina who did not seem to move. He watched her for a second before speaking, looking directly into the camera from his position. 

“Now your friends can watch you too, if they bother” he grinned, pulling her chin up as he stood. Her face was dirty and a trail of dried blood stuck to the right hand side of her face. She attempted to pull her hands slightly but they were completely encased in some odd handcuffs on each side of her. Loki quickly realised they were preventing her from using the Infinity Stones or any of her magic. Alina said nothing. 

“Now, I want to know what information you have of SHIELDS weaponry systems and I want you to explain which Infinity Stones you have and how they work” 

She said nothing. Steve glanced to Bucky. The chair she was in was of a similar design to the one Bucky used to be strapped to. 

“Not speaking eh?” The Shadow said gleefully before nodding to the guard next to him. The man moved forward and placed one hand around her neck and used the other to land a swift punch across her face. He then stepped back and she glared at The Shadow with a bleeding lip. 

“I’ve had worse. This will not work” She spoke for the first time, her voice a little weary and shaky. 

“Oh I know it won’t work! You don’t plan on telling us anything but that’s ok. I already know the answers to these questions” The man smiled 

“Then why ask?” She hissed 

“It gives me an excuse to weaken you” he laughed, drawing a knife across her thigh lightly. She gasped a little in pain but could not move her legs as her ankles were strapped down as well. 

“Maybe you need new tactics” she murmured angrily 

“Oh I have the right tactics” he whistled and 2 Doctors walked in. Alina visibly swallowed. Bucky tensed up, praying they were not about to do what he thought they might. 

“They’re shit” she spat 

“Prep her” he nodded to the Doctors. One injected her with an odd blue fluid while another began prepping the machine beside her. She tensed in her restraints, attempting to throw off the medicals they were trying to take. The Shadow laughed at her effort and grabbed her chin, pulling her face up slowly to meet his. Centimeters away, he kissed her. It was not gentle or kindly, instead he bit down on her lip hard and then pulled away. Loki felt an anger build inside him and Thor glanced to his brother apprehensively. 

“You see, I dont really need that information from you. My.. partner.. in this, if you will, has all that information already but unfortunately it will be a few weeks before he can make it here. Complications and all that. Buuuuuut wouldn’t it please him to have you compliant already… if our daarling weapon was already OURS, my pet?” 

“You are dreaming” 

“You WILL fight for us. Your friend knows lots about all this. You’ll be the next Winter Soldier only better, stronger, more powerful. The ultimate weapon” 

Alina’s mouth dropped open the tiniest bit as she realized what he was talking about. Bucky began to shake a little. 

“No.. No” he whispered and some of the team glanced at him. 

“Wipe her” The Shadow smiled. A doctor nodded and fiddled with some buttons before the other one pulled a switch. Alina screamed. At SHIELD HQ, every agent in the room stopped what they were doing and went completely silent. The only sound was Alina’s screams as they echoed. It went on and on and Bucky couldn’t take it. 

“NO! NO! FUCK NO!” he screamed, throwing his fist into a wall and tearing at his hair.

Loki began breathing heavily, his vision getting a little bit blurry as he watched Alina struggle against her restraints and scream in pain and terror. As she stopped screaming, they watched. The Shadow smiled up at the camera and winked. It was sickly to all of them. 

“Who are you?” he asked Alina who looked half conscious, her eyes fluttering and blood dripping from her mouth. She didn’t answer, but just looked around blankly and tears began to roll down Bucky’s face. 

“I SAID WHO ARE YOU?” He screamed, his voice echoing off the walls and the sound of a slap hitting her face followed it. She looked up at him and Loki saw the same determined look in her eyes that she had given him that day when he had called her weak at training. 

“I’m Alina Everton and my allegiance belongs to the Avengers” she coughed, her voice weak and quiet. Bucky looked up at the screen. She had resisted the first round of conditioning, something even he could not do.The Shadow stepped back angrily, his eyes hard. Then, he began to laugh, a long maniacal laugh. 

“Well I suppose if you want to put yourself through all this then fine. We will try again tomorrow” he almost giggled and Alina flinched back. 

The Shadow continued to laugh as he left the room, followed by his entourage of Guards and Doctors. As the door shut, Alina threw her head back and stared at the ceiling blankly. The video feed had not cut off and they assumed it was continuous. 

“Ali..” Bucky said

“She can’t hear you.. It’s one way” Bruce replied sadly 

“Did we get anything on the tracking?” Fury yelled 

“No sir it is completely untraceable. We can’t even find an ID code for the video to determine which continent it’s on nor can we find the satellite he’s bouncing it off” An agent replied 

“Damnit!” Tony swore

“I feel unwell at seeing Lady Alina be treated so” Thor said quietly 

“That son of a fucking bitch I am going to find him a kill him in every way known to man” Clint muttered viciously. 

“How long will she stand up against the conditioning?” Natasha asked Bucky 

“I don’t know. Realistically she shouldn’t have remembered who she even was after that first round.. I..” He stuttered and Steve put a hand on his shoulder to steady him. 

“It’s the Power Stone. It gives the user an increased durability” Loki mumbled before collapsing into a seat and putting his head in his hands. As Agents went back to work, all he could hear were Alina’s screams. The Avengers noticed Loki’s obvious distraught and as he looked up, they saw his face was paler than usual and his features stricken with fear. 

“Brother, know that we will get her back” 

“How many more times will they do that to her?” Loki asked Bucky 

“As many as they need until they successfully wipe her” 

“And we have no idea how long she will hold out for” Bruce said

“So what we’ve established is we need to get her out of there ASAP” Tony replied 

“Yeah if we knew were ‘there’ was” Steve said bluntly 

“Well then. let's find out” Tony answered, plunging into his work. The video feed continued to run throughout the night, never ceasing. Loki watched the entire time, not moving from his spot under the screen. At one point, a doctor walked into the cell and Loki’s head shot up, followed by Natasha and Clint’s who had been sitting with him at the time. It turned out the Doctor was simply checking her vitals and they calmed back down. Tony and Bruce worked through the night on a tracking system that may be able to locate the distribution of satellite waves that the video would be putting off. Unsurprisingly, HYDRA activity had gone quiet so more Agents and Scientists were available to help and source tech. Coulson had flown Jane and Erik in overnight and they arrived at 8 o’clock the next morning. 

Jane was sipping her coffee and talking to Erik when Sam called them through to the main room. The Shadow had come back into Alina’s cell. She was unconscious. The rest of The Avengers hurried through too and stood to watch tensely. The man paced the room, circling an unconscious Alina. 

“Wake her” he demanded quietly 

A doctor fiddled with Alina’s IV and began tapping something in on a screen which The Avengers could not see. Within minutes, Alina began to stir, tossing her head from side to side slightly as if she was suffering a nightmare, which albeit, she was. 

“Hello again” she mumbled, her entire body searing with pain 

“Are we going to do some talking this time?” The man asked

“What’s the point, you know the answers” 

“True. How about I ask you something and you ask me something?” he smiled 

Alina’s eyes flicked to the camera in the corner before looking back at the man. 

“What’s to say you won’t lie?” she groaned 

“What’s to say you won’t either, pet?” 

“Fine, what’s your real name?” 

“Demetri Aliyev. What is your relationship to the two Gods within the Avengers?” 

“They kidnapped me. Now we’re team mates” 

“Interesting…” Demetri mused, his hands under his chin as he took a seat

“Where am I?” 

“My private base” 

“What country?” 

“Ah ah ah, now now” he grinned, sinisterly his fingers trailing across her collarbone. He reached the chain of the dog tag which she was still wearing, pulling it out from under her shirt. Bucky tensed, suddenly realising the complications this could have on her. 

“James Buchanan Barnes…” he drawled out slowly, meeting Alina’s eyes. 

The Avengers team froze as they remembered. 

“Oh shit” Bucky swore 

Loki growled a little. If the man had refrained from gifting his ridiculous piece of jewelry to Alina then she wouldn’t be in this situation. 

“Now.. this isn’t you is it? I wonder… why would you have The Winter Soldier's dog tag?” Demetri hissed 

“His name is Bucky Barnes not The Winter Soldier” Alina growled back 

“He will always BE the Winter Soldier” 

“Not to me… not to them” Alina defended weakly 

The Shadow landed a slap across her face and Alina squeezed her eyes, refocusing her vision. Her head was full with a dull pain that resonated down her neck and back and into her arms and legs. It felt like pure exhaustion. She strained a little against her wrist cuffs but to no surprise, they did not budge. 

 

“You mean nothing to them” he said, snapping the dog tag chain from her neck and putting a lighter under it, dangling it from his fingers. Slowly, the tag began to char black until it covered Bucky’s name completely. Then it began to melt, dripping onto Alina. She flinched at the searing hot metal through her pants and attempted to move her leg out of the way, to no avail.

“So?” she murmured 

Steve felt his heart break a little for the woman. If only she knew how they watched, each of them terrified for her as she sat in the grasps of a psychopath. 

“They’re not coming for you, you know” he lilted 

She seemed to shrug a little in her restraints. 

“So?” She repeated 

“So, you maaaaay as well work for us” he grinned 

“My morals and values don’t change just because a group of people don't want to come and collect their barely usable weapon” she stated dryly 

Steve smiled a little. She was determined and brave and it was admirable. 

“They will…” Demetri smiled before whispering something to a Doctor who nodded and said something quietly back before glancing at Alina. The Doctor turned to his colleagues and nodded. 

“Wipe her again” 

“What? They can’t wipe her again so quickly! The technology is far too advanced they’ll put her in extreme amounts of pain!” Bruce protested to the screen 

“No.. They can’t. If they ever needed to.. wipe me.. it would be after months.. or even years since the last wipe.. I.. dont.. I don't know what happens if they do it this quickly” Bucky said back, his voice strained and cracking. 

Again, Alina’s screams filled the room. Jane jumped in shock and pressed her head against Thor’s chest, unable to watch her friend endure the torture she was sitting through. It went on for longer this time, to the point where Alina’s cries of pain were almost convincing Fury to turn off the screen completely. Finally, it ended. Demetri was smiling at Alina as she opened her eyes wide. They where tear-filled and unfocused, staring at the ceiling.   
“Now I want you to tell me who you are” The doctor asked 

Alina didn’t move, she stared at the ceiling. Unlike Demetri the previous time, the Doctor waited patiently for her to acknowledge his question. 

“You work for the wrong people” She said simply 

“I'm sorry?” The doctor asked, while another one took notes. 

“You work for the wrong people. You work for HYDRA.” 

“And who do you work for?” 

“SHIELD” she smiled, weakly. 

Bucky punched the air. 

“YES! YES!” he yelled 

Demetri simply looked at the woman and sighed. So be it. He raised a hand and gestured to two of his guards to approach. As the girl fell into a slight unconsciousness, they undid her ankle restraints and wrist restraints, leaving her large cuffs on her hands to prevent her magic use. The two men dragged her onto the floor. One stood behind her, holding her arms behind her by the forearm whilst the other began to beat her. A punch to the stomach, a fist to the face over and over until she lay still, moaning on the floor. The Avengers watched with horror as this occurred until they fastened her back into the reclined seat. 

“This should serve as a warning” The Shadow whispered in her ear. She was soaked in her own blood. It dripped down from her forehead, mouth and nose and oozed from her shoulder and leg. She simply coughed in response before passing out.   
As Demetri went to leave, he motioned to his Doctors to stay, After all, he couldn’t have her choking on her own blood.


	32. Deal

The days went on like this. Every 2nd day they would attempt to wipe Alina and every in between day they would beat her. It had been a week of this when The Avengers received an unexpected guest. 4 of them to be precise. They were scouring SHIELD records for a trace of the name “Demetri Aliyev” when there was a bang outside, they stood up and took positions but to their surprise in walked 3 men, all clad in armour and a dark haired woman. Thor immediately dropped the offensive and greeted his friends. Loki simply sat in the corner, staring at the screen which showed Alina. 

“MY FRIENDS!” Thor bellowed.

After appropriate greetings and introductions Thor asked why they were here. 

“Well, The Allfather was under the impression Lady Alina had acquired another Infinity Stone and we were sent here to collect her. Where is the wee lass anyway?” Volstagg asked joyfully 

Thor’s face dropped. 

“My friends… We are dealing with a grave offence indeed. Lady Alina has been kidnapped by a mortal man who we believe is co operating with someone of another realm.” He said gravely, gesturing to the 120 inch screen on the wall. Fandral immediately approached it, staring up at Alina’s bloody, restrained form. Sif, Volstagg and Hogun joined him.

“In the norns… How..? Is she.. alive?” Fandral asked 

“Yes but she is being held and tortured. They are trying to wipe her memory in an attempt to get her to work for them.. to use the infinity stones for them” Thor said 

“Well we must get her back! Right away!” Hogun said dutifully 

“We have been trying my friends but we cannot locate her. I called to Heimdall and even he could not see her. There is something sinister at hand here” 

The warriors glanced towards Loki who was leant against the wall staring up at the screen. 

“What’s wrong with Loki?” Sif asked 

“Uh... The only reason Alina was kidnapped was due to herself and Loki having a large argument and he refused to teach her. On our last mission, she saved his life but did not have the training to control the latest stone and so ended up being captured. He blames himself” Thor replied gently 

“I have never seen Loki so downtrodden” Fandral commented 

“My brother has taken this very much upon himself” Thor said 

“And this man.. could he be liasoning with Thanos?” Hogun asked 

“It is a possibility… Whomever this ‘partner’ Demetri Aliyevs is talking about, they know detail of the Infinity Stones and they are aware of Alina’s possession of at least some of them” 

“It’s only a matter of time” Loki said, interrupting them. He had heard every word they had said of course. They weren’t exactly subtle. The rest of the Avengers joined them in discussion. Bruce and Tony where still no closer to tracking the video feed. For some reason they could not trace the satellite signal to anywhere, nor pinpoint which satellite it was actually bouncing off to reach them. Despite working tirelessly, they had again come up with nothing. Bucky, Steve and Nat had been going through all the files they had acquired on missions right back to the 1940’s, looking for traces of ‘Demetri’ or ‘The Shadow’ which seemed to be a deceiver for his real identity. They had not found a wisp of him anywhere. Clint, Sam and Rhodey had been searching SHIELD’S tracking systems vigilantly to search for any signs of heavy aircraft in any parts of the world but they too had come up short. Loki even admitted to desperately using his own magic to try and trace Alina but whatever those cuffs were made of, and wherever she was, it was blocking him out completely. They were steadily running out of options. Just as the warrior’s idea’s became more exuberant, a door banged open. They jumped, only to find it was not one of there’s. The sound came from the screen. Their horror was only intensified. 

Demetri raged into the room, his 3 guards behind him. 

“WAKE UP” He screamed with an intense anger.

She stirred a little and seemed to murmur something but he grabbed her roughly by the face with one hand and planted a disgustingly angry kiss on her mouth. She did not respond to it, not fighting back, just simply allowing him to push his tongue into her mouth. Loki’s heart dropped a little at her lack of fiery determination which she possessed earlier. She seemed to be simply enduring rather than fighting back anymore. As Demetri pulled back from her, it revealed a dull look in her eyes. The rest of those present saw it too. Fandral audibly gulped. 

“Now my little.. pet.. How do you feel?” he lilted 

 

She didn’t answer. She did not even look him in the eye. 

“Answer” A doctor commanded 

“In pain” she replied meekly, her voice sounding lifeless. Bucky began to choke on his own tears again. It was the same dead inside look which he used to have. Steve felt the same way, thinking of when he encountered his friend for the first time in 70 years and the dead look in his eyes. Fortunately, Alina still remembered who she was. Unfortunately, today was a wipe day. It was the same routine again; Prep, fiddle with some medical instruments and a wipe accompanied by terrified screaming. This time however was slightly different and sent a pang of fear through the team. 

“Who are you? Who do you work for?” A doctor asked 

Instead of her usual answer which included her name and allegiance to SHIELD and/or the Avengers, she stared for a long minute. 

“I.. I d- I” she stuttered 

Bucky drew a sharp breath. The doctor repeated his questions. Again she stuttered and seemed to have trouble, her head swaying on her shoulders in a dizzying manner. Blood dripped from her mouth and nose, staining the bloodstains already present on her shirt and pants. Her entire face by now coated in dried or wet blood, dirt and dust. She had a small knife slash to her leg, nothing major but accompanied with all the bruises which traveled from her shoulders right down past her thighs, she was exhausted. Demetri grinned a wide, sinister grin. 

“You work for HYDRA” he smiled 

Alina looked at him.

“No.. god no” Bucky whispered 

“Who is… hm…. Loki? Do you know Loki?” Demetri asked pleasantly, testing the waters.

Again, Alina stared at him. She looked as if she were trying hard to remember something but couldn’t quite grasp it. Blinking slowly, she looked in between Demetri and a Doctor. 

“Loki..?” she whispered questioningly, her voice cracking a little with tiredness and confusion. Loki couldn’t take it, he audibly choked as tears sprang to his eyes. In any other circumstance the rest of the team and the warriors would have jumped to various conclusions however they were so transfixed and harbouring similar emotions to Loki that they barely noticed it over the sound of their own thoughts. Thor spared his brother a glance only to see a few tears dripping down Loki’s horrified face. 

“Mmmn Loki? Thor? Captain America?” Demetri smiled 

Alina cast her eyes downward before they flicked back up to Demetri Aliyev. 

“The Avengers…” she said 

“Yes, the enemy” A doctor replied gently 

“Only to you” she said

“What?”

“They are not my enemy.. they’re.. it.. SHIELD… good” she coughed 

Demetri slammed his fist into a wall in a sudden fit of rage and the doctors jumped back. As quickly as his fit had begun, it ended and he turned around and let out a high pitched laugh. 

“No matter! We are so close my pet!” 

Too tired to respond, Alina leant her head back against the chair and stared blankly at nothing. It was hitting the 2 week mark of being in confinement like this. 2 weeks of wiping and torture sessions for no good reason other than to cause her suffering. Her body was in so much physical pain she could barely think. Her head was clouded and she found herself slurring her speech and slipping into bouts of unconsciousness. When she would wake up all she would encounter were the grey walls of the room, the tightened restraints and doctors and general medical equipment around her. At first, she had held hope that The Avengers would simply burst in and they’d fight their way out and everything would be fine- or as fine as fine can be with The Avengers. Yet as the days dragged on and the more Demetri talked, the more she realised that this was far above HYDRA and someone else was involved. The Avengers wouldn’t be able to find her, not with the level of tech that Demetri had suddenly managed to acquire which she suspected was a courtesy of his ‘partner’. She refused to give in to their tactics though. Even herself, she did not fully understand how she was managing to resist the wiping technology and although it was slowly beginning to get to her, she was still able to hold out against it. She doubted they were even watching the video link anymore or at least, not often enough to catch all this. As she was left alone in the dull room she took one last shot of hope in the dark, lifting her head wearily and staring into the camera in the top right hand corner of the room. 

“I remember you all. My allegiance belongs with you” she said with as much strength as she could muster before forcing a weak smile. 

“What have they done to her?” Fandral half whispered, watching the video link.

“They’re destroying her until she’s too weak to be anything but their little puppet in this game” Tony growled 

“We must find her. I owe her my life” Hogun stated 

“That is very true my friends but we have no leads” Thor replied 

Natasha looked up at them at this. 

“Has anyone actually looked at the video?” she asked 

“Huh?” Sam queried 

“Has anyone looked into the video to see what the men were wearing, what the doctors were wearing, identify what the walls are made out of, identify the temperature, any of that?”

“You think that could lead us to her?” Rhodey asked 

“If we can get name tags or any information of those doctor’s clipboards it could help us. Even the temperature or what the walls are made of could indicate climate and depth of were Alina is being held below or above surface. Then we know where to scan” 

“Shall we return to Asgard and notify the Allfather?” Sif asked 

“No. For now, we must not do such a thing. I fear my father’s involvement could only worsen Alina’s situation… especially if Thanos is involved with this ‘Shadow man’. Stay here on Midgard for a few more days, perhaps you may see something in this footage or data that we do not” 

They nodded, earnestly setting to work with Steve, Bucky, Nat and Clint pouring over faces and identifications and files to see if they recognized anything that the other’s didn’t. They were devastated to see Alina so bloody and tortured. Sif remembered her when she had first arrived on Asgard, challenging Eli to that fight with such determination,bravery and wickedness in her eyes. Seeing her have all that taken away, to be limp and blank at the hands of such a vile mortal disgusted her. While the warriors set about their tasks and Tony, Bruce, Sam and Rhodey looked into new tracking mechanisms, Thor took the opportunity to speak with Loki.  
He was still sat looking at the screen were he had been sat for nearly the entire past 2 weeks. At the beginning he had sat there sulkily and indifferent as he had been confident it would be easy to retrieve Alina from the odd mortal man. However as the days drew on, Loki’s indifference began to fail and he watched the screen with almost a desperate need to make sure Alina was still alive. Thor knew he was taking this harder than he was willing to show.

“Brother, you must know that we will get her back” 

“But will she still be alive at that point?” he growled angrily. He was more angry at himself than anything else. He had caused this situation. 

“I have faith in Lady Alina’s strength. She trusted you and continues to trust you Loki, have faith in her and in us when I say we will find her and punish the perpetrators” 

Loki looked up, running a hand through his hair.

“Fine, I will trust you. On one condition” Loki warned 

“What?” 

“I get the honour of personally dismembering and killing this Shadow Man” Loki hissed with venom in his voice that Thor almost reconsidered. 

“Deal”


	33. And we run

2 days had passed and Natasha had discovered that the temperature in the video was heated, but considering the many jackets, gloves and other variants of warm clothing the guards had been wearing, she assumed it was somewhere where the environment was naturally cold. This narrowed it down to absolutely nowhere however. Bucky was under the impression that the base itself was mainly below ground, which Steve and Tony where inclined to agree with considering HYDRA’s usual tactics and the fact that their world wide scans had picked up nothing above ground which was even remotely suited or suspicious. Loki had finally left the screen and moved to were Tony and Bruce were optimizing some tracking devices when Sif and Fandral yelled across the room. Demetri was back with his usual smug smirk. This time, Alina was already conscious when he walked in and she barely acknowledged his presence, her head back and eyes fixed on the wall. 

‘Hello pet” Demetri sung 

She didn’t move. 

“Now you know today is a wipe day” he continued. The team tensed up. This could be it, considering the last wipe had very nearly worked. This could be when they lost her for good. Loki, Bucky and Steve were near shaking. Clint had gripped Natasha’s hand so strongly he was beginning to cut of the blood flow. She let him anyway. 

“Mmf” Alina groaned 

“But we have someone who we think may do a better job. It- he- came to us about you very specifically. He says he can get you to obey, he knows the stones. He has played loyalty to Hydra” Demetri smiled. Alina looked at him tiredly. 

Thor exchanged glances with some of his friends. Who could this man possibly be? It did not sound to be Thanos considering but it was definitely someone from one of the other 8 realms.   
The door opened behind Demetri and in ducked Surt, the warrior Frost Giant. Thor and Loki looked to one another, confused. 

“Surt? Jotunheim’s best warriors and King’s guard?” Fandral exclaimed in shock 

“You know that thing?” Steve asked

“Yes, he spent some time in Asgard with the King of Jotunheim when Alina first acquired the Space Stone… he.. Alina pledged her allegiance to Jotunheim..” Thor replied 

“But now he’s betraying that” Sif said bluntly 

On the screen, Alina raised an eyebrow and Surt nodded to Demetri who nodded back before gesturing to his guard. 

“I have a meeting now. Don’t kill her, we need her alive” The Shadow said, before leaving the Alina alone in the room with Surt. The Frost Giant circled her, walking around her restrained form, tapping the medical instruments and breathing frost from his mouth. This continued for a good 5 minutes in silence before he crouched down beside her. She didn’t look at him but continued staring straight ahead. The Frost Giant seemed to sigh before placing a hand on her restraints. She flinched and he looked up at her. 

“I am here to get you out” he said quietly 

This caused Alina to turn her head. As if to prove his statement, he froze and then shattered her restraints on her left wrist and then did the same to the odd cuff which encircled her hand. He did the same to the opposite side and then to her ankle restraints. She stayed completely still while he did this. Gently, he undid all the wires around her head, chest, arms and neck. Again, she did not move. At SHIELD, the team watched with a renewed hope as Surt put an arm around Alina and pulled her to her feet. She stood shakily and placed a hand on the equipment to steady herself. 

“Getting in here was easy and we can fight out by simply freezing or killing most of these ‘warriors’ but once out of this base we have nowhere to go” Surt said gravely 

“We’re going to be hunted as soon as Demetri realizes we are out and unfreezes his men” Alina mumbled 

“I am warning you now. We have nowhere to go. I cannot even transport us back to Jotunheim. Norfi cannot get down here, we have no help.” Surt replied, looking at the girl.  
She seemed to consider this before looking up to the little camera in the corner. 

“We might” she whispered, looking directly into the lense. 

“What?” 

“This camera has been transmitting directly to Thor, Loki and their team on Midgard. They may be watching. Do you know the location of this base?” She asked Surt, stumbling a little. 

Immediately Tony and Bruce pulled out all their tracking gear, ready for the answer. Bucky’s frown had turned into a small smile which he shared with Steve. Ali was alive and they sure as hell were going to help get her out of there. 

“Yes. It is on Midgard in a country called ‘Russia’” he answered 

“Specifics?” 

“Taiga forests, at the base of mountains about 8 midgardian kilometers east from the great Primeval waterfall” 

“Well then we may have help if we can run for long enough” Alina smiled weakly, turning away from the camera. She looked at Surt who held out a hand. 

“Are you able to even run?” he asked 

“Im running on adrenaline. I can probably last a while, as well as use my magic now those cuffs are off” she answered. He nodded and lead the way towards the door, smashing it down and freezing the 4 guards outside instantly. Alina took one last look into the camera before disappearing after Surt.   
The Avengers look to each other for a small moment and then burst into action, gathering weapons, tracking data, information, reports and everything they could think they would need. The warriors checked their swords and axes and Loki and Thor exchanged a determined look as Thor summoned Mjolnir.

“It’s 10 hours from here to Russia” Natasha said in a worried tone as they made their way towards the jet hanger. At this, Fury seemed to appear from nowhere out of some corridor, accompanied by Coulson. 

“Actually, we’ve been trialing a new jet which can travel 10 times faster than our old ones. One of a kind, but I think it’s time we use it” he said, directing them to a more up-spec looking model of the quinjet. As they boarded it, Coulson spoke. 

“It’ll get you there in no longer than 2 hours. Hill will be piloting it since she is one of the few that is able to. Good luck”

As they took off, they began discussing options and Tony and Bruce set up their thermal scanners and medical bay. It was going to be the longest 2 hours of their lives.

Meanwhile, Surt and Alina smashed their way through the guards on the way out. Alina blasted them with magic, not too worried about killing them anymore. Surt froze them and then smashed them rendering them either dead or unconscious. They continued up flights of stairs and corridors, killing or knocking out anyone that they came across. It took almost half an hour for them to get out of the main doors of the base and into the snow. It was snowing lightly but the ground was thick with it. In front of them was a forest; large pine trees and a darkness that seemed to continue on the deeper it got. Alina assumed it was anywhere between 2 and 4pm considering it was quite bright and the sun was still up, behind the clouds. She exchanged a glance with Surt before they sprinted into the forest. As they continued through the forest, half walking half running, they did their best to cover their tracks by filling in their footsteps using magic.

“How did you find me?” Alina finally asked as they walked quickly after becoming tired of running. 

“King Norfi has been keeping tabs on you ever since we left. He was worried that the Allfather was not looking after you as he should and that this would occur. One day, we suddenly could not find you anymore. We searched and searched but we could not see you. So instead, we found were Thor was and figured out what had happened. You are tied to Jotunheim through the Tesseract, or the space stone as you may know it. Due to this we have a more powerful bond than other things and could find you when people like Heimdall or Thor and his warriors could not” he answered 

“I see. Thank you” she replied 

“It’s not over yet. They are probably looking for us as we speak and you are weak and injured” 

“It’s still better than being tortured in that god awful room” she said in response

“Yes well-” he went to reply but suddenly stopped. Alina looked at him in confusion but Surt seemed to be listening. 

“Do you hear that?” he whispered. Alina listened. In the distance where dogs barks and although very faint, men’s voices yelling instructions. They were being hunted. 

“Demetri…” she shuddered. Surt grabbed her hand and they began to run, pushing through snow covered branches and shrubs. They no longer had the time to cover their tracks meticulously and so had left a few in the snow. As they ran, the yells and barking where getting closer and closer. Overhead flew a jet with a spotlight, evidently searching for them. They continued desperately, breaking out of the forest onto an icy open plain. Alina looked at Surt and soon realised it was a huge frozen river they were sliding across. It was nearly 200 meters wide and at the far end jutted off into what Alina assumed was what Surt had described as the Primeval Waterfall. Behind them, the dogs and armed men followed them onto the ice carefully and the jet circled above them, the hanger doors open and Demetri smiling down and waving at them. They continued forward, heading towards the edge of the waterfall, desperate for some sort of solution when engines sounded. Surt and Alina stopped and looked upwards, as did the men following them. Across the forest came another jet. Alina thought she recognised it but to her, it looked different to the Quinjet. A voice boomed through the speakers as the jet stopped about 80 Meters from the other. 

“Surrender or be killed. That is up to you and we suggest you choose wisely” Tony’s voice sounded. Alina gasped and Surt raised an eyebrow at her. 

“You know them?” 

“It’s Thor..” she murmured. 

There was a moments silence before Demetri’s laugh came through the opposite speakers.

“AH ah ah! Can’t have you taking my pet away!” he laughed. Alina saw before anyone else, the guns from Demetri’s jet raise. Mustering as much energy as she could, she encircled the new quinjet with a forcefield. The bullets simply bounced off. Surt began to speak but she cut him off. 

“We need that jet to get out of here” she muttered 

“They can’t get to us now!” Surt growled 

“We’ll figure something out!” she said back. Surt took her hand and they continued to run towards the edge, the men and dogs after them. The quinjet followed them. 

“Put down the forcefield Lady Alina. We are here to help” Thor’s voice sounded 

“Yes, put it down so we can kill them” Demetri boomed. Alina ignored them both and Surt and her self skidded to a stop at the edge of the waterfall. It was a decent 700 meters to the bottom, nothing they could scale, jump or climb down and the water below was frozen solid. They turned to face each other and Alina took Surt’s wrists, her hands shaking a little from exhaustion. 

“Do you trust me?” 

“You are Jotunheim’s ally. Of course” he replied curtly 

“I mean do you trust me. Not my allegiance but me” 

He looked at her a second before glancing at the rapidly approaching wolf hybrids and armed men.

“Yes” 

“Good. Whatever you do, don't’ let go of me” She whispered as he pulled her into a hug. To everyone else, it looked as if they were saying their goodbyes. Surt pulled her into a hug, his chin on her head, speaking to her and then they tipped over the edge. Loki cried out as their bodies fell. The men following them had skidded to a halt, peering over the waterfall’s edge. 

There were no bodies. Alina and Surt had simply disappeared. In the Quinjet, the team exchanged looks of confusion which soon changed to surprise as Alina and Surt reappeared in a flurry of purple and blue magic behind the men. With a glance at one another they joined hands and blasted the group off the edge. Unfortunately, more men emerged from the forest. They could not safely get aboard the quinjet without it being shot down or someone being killed. They had to get rid of all these men. The Avengers almost saw the plan forming between the two and realised they were all but helpless with Alina still blocking their abilities to get down there and help. Then again, getting shot out of the sky right now wouldn’t exactly be very helpful either. 

The pair turned to look as a new group of men came towards them. There were far more this time and with a large variant of weapons. They knew they couldn’t pull the same stunt they just had again. Looking to one another with a depserate need to come up with a plan quickly, they became resigned to the fact that they’d have to let the Avengers get down to help and allow the jet to be shot out of the sky. As Alina prepared to drop the force field, beams came down either side of Surt and herself, the power and wind whipping her hair. Out of the golden hue, stood Frost giants. At least 60 of them, including Norfi himself who dismounted a odd blue looking creature which resembled a mix between a dog, a horse and some hybrid and was at least 4 times as large as a horse. 

The men who had been approaching stopped in shock and fear at the tall blue creatures, all of them brandishing sword or their own hands in daggers of ice. Norfi approached Surt and nodded. 

“Well done my friend” 

Surt nodded and half bowed in return before Norfi turned his attention to Alina. He almost passed a look of worry across his own face as he looked at her bloodstained form. She was soaked in her own blood. Half her face plastered with dry blood, her shirt although black showed hues of red after being completely stained and their was a cut in her pants which also was stained a little with blood. She shivered a little from the cold. 

“You are injured” he replied 

“Running off adrenaline” she coughed 

He simply nodded before turning to his men. 

“Kill them all” 

The Frost Giants charged forward, Norfi and Surt included. Alina joined the fight, still focussing on keeping the quinjet safe. Demetri’s jet had begun shooting down at the Frost Giants who soon took action. One catapulted the others into the air and they latched onto the jet, freezing it’s engines and ripping out the eletricals before jumping off it as it crashed into the forest. Alina fought with magic, wiping out as many men as she could when she saw Norfi, his back to her, bearing down on 3 men. He hadn’t seen a man with what Alina recognised as holding a 22 Caliber, pointed at the Frost Giant King. Her world was spinning and she felt weak, protecting the quinjet and using magic to fight whilst being so injured had brought her to the point were adrenaline could no longer aid her. She stumbled forward and threw herself in front of Norfi, who had still not turned around. The man had already fired and seemed to realise his mistake as Demetri wanted the girl alive. The bullet hit her in the side and she immediately fell to her knees. Surt saw this and drove his sword through the man’s chest from behind, killing him instantly. 

Norfi turned to see Alina on her knees, grasping her side before she fell forward onto the ice. He quickly rolled her over. She was already gasping and moaning in pain. Her forcefield protecting the Quinjet dropped and Maria immediately landed it. The Avengers where out of the jet and fighting faster than Norfi could blink. As he leant over the girl, Surt protected them and with the Avenger’s and Warriors help, the fight was over minutes later. Alina was falling into unconsciousness as he attempted to freeze her wound. Norfi then picked her up and looked to Thor who looked to his friends. Steve signalled for everyone to fall back to the jet and Norfi ran with Alina in his arms, passing her to Thor and turning around and commanding his warriors to reform. Thor gently laid Alina in the medical bay where Bruce set to work and ran out again. 

“Thank you my friend. I believe this will greatly increase the positive relationship between Asgard and Jotunheim” 

“That is little of my concern now. Protect the girl” 

Thor nodded. 

“You have a kingdom to rule. Please, let me get Heimdall to send you home” 

Norfi looked at him evenly before nodding and rejoining his army, saying something quietly to Surt. 

“HEIMDALL!” Thor roared into the sky, looking up into the snow. Seconds later, the Frost Giants were gone and all that remained was a litter of dead men. Thor returned to the jet were everyone had regrouped. Fandral, Loki and Bucky all leant over Alina’s limp form as Bruce attempted to work. Steve finally commanded them to step back, which Fandral looked particularly offended by.

“Will she live?” Sif asked, standing up as Maria took off. Below them, the Ice began to crack and shatter and the waterfall began to flow again. 

“I’ve stabilized the bullet wound. It’s nothing big, the guy was a terrible shot and just grazed her side. She’s incredibly weak, as you can imagine. She has a knife wound to the thigh, a severe concussion, bruises covering most of her body, suspected cracked ribs, some pretty bad cuts, particularly one to the head and a low blood sugar” 

“Yeah I’m sure she’s worried about the low blood sugar” Tony quipped 

Loki moved forward again, sitting down and touching Alina’s blood stained face. He shook slightly as he brushed a piece of hair out of her closed eyes and observed her. He had never seen her look so weak. The weeks of torture had truly gotten to her. She had lost a little bit of weight, and even asleep she look completely exhausted. 

“We need to get her back to Dr. Cho and the SHIELD med teams ASAP” Bruce mumbled, fiddling with her medicals. 

Surprisingly, she began to come to. Loki leant back a little and looked questioningly at Banner who looked equally as confused. 

“What..” Bruce muttered to himself as he checked over the drip and moniter. Everyone bar Agent Hill crowded around as Alina’s eyes fluttered. She opened them and saw only the IV attached to her arm and the moniter. Bucky saw what was about to happen before anyone else; The woman panicked. She immediately struggled against nothing and cried out, attempting to pull out IV’s and other med wires attached to her. Loki immediately tried to calm her but she would not listen. Too weak to get up she tried to toss herself over.   
Fandral went to hold her wrists down but she hit out against him hard. Bucky looked to Loki. 

“You’re in a good position! Hold her down! She’ll only injure herself more if she’s allowed to struggle!” 

At this, Loki swiftly jumped on top of her, straddling her waist and hold her wrists down. She struggled against him, choking on gasps but this soon died out as she grew weaker and could not flip Loki off of her. She looked up at him with wide eyes and then a flicker of recognition crossed her features. 

“Loki?” 

“You’re safe… I’ve got you.” he whispered 

“I.. where…. im there was” 

“Shhhh. We’re all here. You’re safe” he soothed

“Lady Alina” Fandral crouched a little beside her and she turned her head. 

“Fandral? What?”

“We came to save you” he said

“You did a shit job” she mumbled and he laughed a little, relieved she still seemed to possess her dry sense of humor. 

“Can I get off you or are you going to fight?” Loki asked calmly

“You may get off” she whispered, her entire body aching. 

Bucky peered over. 

“Ali.. I’m so.. so Im so sorry” he choked up a bit 

She smiled weakly at him. 

“Im still here” 

“We watched all of it. Everytime he tried to wipe you… every time they beat you… I thought.. at one point we’d lost you completely” he whispered 

She went to reply but instead groaned in pain, her body convulsing. Bruce looked over her and sighed. 

“You’re in too much pain. I need you unconscious” he said and Steve nodded to him. 

“Rest” Loki said, kissing her forehead as she fell gently back into unconsciousness


	34. Unstable

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, it's been a while. Here's a short chapter to keep you going while I work on the events following Alina's torture and abduction. Feel free to comment with any criticism, suggestions or support!

Alina came to in an empty med bay. Looking up with blurred eyes, she recognised the contraption she was in; The Cradle. Her muscles ached and she noted a particular stabbing pain in her thigh. Slowly, she moved to sit up and blinked rapidly, attempting to free her eyes from the heavy feeling that had captured them. As she came to more, she began to examine her injuries and as she did memories poured back.   
The bandage around her thigh from the knife dug into her leg for being particularly angry and sarcastic towards Demetri.   
She remembered him destroying Bucky’s dog tag and flinched instinctively.   
The cuts covering her hands from the small knife cuts, needles, and her own fingernails.  
The bruises extending over her body from the extensive beatings she’d received. Once again she shuddered involuntarily.   
Pushing the glass of the cradle upwards, she slid out of the contraption and, weak as she was, fell immediately to the ground. Angry at her body for its incapability to function she growled lightly to herself and then used the med table to pull herself upright. Swaying, she stood for a moment. Then, slowly, she took a few ginger steps. After testing the water, she began to walk tentatively out of the room, sticking to the wall in case she should fall.   
Being back in Avengers Tower was like muscle memory for her as she made her way down the corridors and up the lifts to the kitchen and dining. She did not fully understand why she felt the need to go there but perhaps it was a need for caffeine and normality that was driving her. As she neared the door into the kitchen she could hear the murmuring of talking. Quietly, she pushed the door open and slipped into the kitchen. Standing in the kitchen, she realised that at least some of the avengers appeared to be having a heated discussion. Sighing, she slid the partition door open and stood in the doorway. 

“Why am I always having to mediate for you bastards?” she muttered weakly 

Every head in the room snapped up to look at her in shock. She was equally as surprised to see the heated discussion had been with Odin himself. 

“Alina?!” a chorus of voices sprang out. 

She stared back, leaning against the doorway. Bucky stood up and made his way to her cautiously. As he neared, she instinctively flinched backwards and felt a tremor of fear as he raised his hand, only to lay it gently on her shoulder. He noticed this and a sad look crossed his face. Behind him, the others exchanged worried glances.

“You should be resting” he said quietly 

She nodded slightly, whilst keeping her eyes trained on Odin. He stared too, making eye contact. 

“Did I interrupt something?” she queried blankly 

“You indeed did” Odin replied sharply 

“Father!” Thor and Loki retorted 

“I have made my thoughts very clear on this issue. The warriors three were here to collect miss Everton and if I had sent them earlier as I had intended, none of this would have occurred. She will immediately return to Asgard”

An argument once again broke out. Thor, Loki, Clint, Bucky, Steve, Tony, Sam and even Sif began to speak loudly – arguing with Odin. 

“ENOUGH” he bellowed after 5 minutes of yelling 

The room went quiet 

“She will return to Asgard” 

Alina felt a powerful surge of anger, one she was unfamiliar with.

“Were you going to ask me about this?” she hissed, her tone cold enough to turn heads. 

“You will do as I tell you for the safety of yourself and the universe” 

“She is too weak to even travel at the moment anyway” Bruce pointed out   
He was ignored.

Alina tensely limped forward towards Odin. Her taped up leg was in agony but for whatever reason there was powerful emotion driving her. As she approached he seemed to sense this and his expression changed a fraction. 

“I will NOT do that” she said, her face inches from his.

“Do I have to –“ he began but was cut off as he was thrown backwards into the wall.

The room froze. Alina had activated the stones and sent Odin flying. Her eyes were mixed with gold and green. 

“You have no domain over what I do. I will not go with you. I’ve been through fucking hell and back and I will be damned if I go through it again bending to your every will.”

Fandral and Sif were helping Odin up as she hissed this. Her eyes returning to her normal colour, she glared at him determined not to give him the pleasure of her excruciating pain. 

“How dare you attack the King of Asgard” he growled angrily 

“Don’t make me do it again. I am now well educated in many forms of torture Odin, don’t make me try them out on you” 

“Is that a threat Miss Everton?” 

“Yes” she replied simply, turning and limping towards the door.

The room was quiet. Although they had all seen Alina challenge the King of Asgard before, this time felt different. Her tone was so cold and empty that it made them shiver. 

“You are unstable” Odin said pointedly 

Alina froze along with everyone else in the room. Slowly, she turned her shoulders and her eyes flicked to a vivid purple. 

“I’ll show you unstable if you like. I will show you a hell you haven’t had the misfortune of experiencing yet” she hissed. 

Her body was tense and although her statement was threatening she looked weak and tired. 

“You have too many Infinity Gems now to be safe on Midgard. These events have only proved it to be true” Odin said, ignoring her threat 

“These events are nothing of the sort. I suggest you get solid information on the whereabouts of anyone who could be a threat and then come back here and talk. Until then, leave” 

“You will not order me so”

“You will leave or I will kill you”

Odin raised his eyebrows at her blunt, expressionless words before turning and heading for the roof.

“Our assistance is required in Asgard but we wish you a safe recovery Ali” Fandral spoke, cutting the tension 

Alina didn’t reply. She simply looked at him and gave a hint of a nod. As the Warriors Three and lady Sif followed Odin, they each hugged her and gave her a worried look before   
disappearing. 

After they had left the room fell silent. All eyes were on Alina as she swayed slightly. Her eyes flicked to the group, considering them almost in a way that appeared distrustful. Suddenly she groaned, leaning against the wall to keep herself upright. Loki moved to help her but she waved a hand and glared at him frostily. 

 

“So, when do we get to work?” She drawled tiredly.


	35. Slip up

The team looked at her in a concerned manner, nobody speaking. Alina looked weak and her loss of control towards Odin had be disturbingly uncharacteristic. There was a new blankness in her eyes. This look was not calm and evaluating as it previously was – it was empty and carried a hint of pain. Before anyone could say anything of substance, Dr. Cho hurried into the room and began to address Tony. 

“Tony! It’s Alina she’s gon…” she trailed off as her eyes landed on Alina leaning on the wall. 

“Yep she found us” Tony replied dryly 

Cho’s attention turned to Alina.

“How are you managing to stand? Your injuries are far too severe and you’re far too weak right now! You should still be in an induced coma” 

“They were being loud” she replied, her voice a little warmer with humour   
This seemed to ease the tension a little.   
“How do you feel?” Steve asked gently   
Alina considered this. 

“Like I was tazered, drugged, beaten, tortured and tested on by a psychopath” 

Tony gave a half laugh.   
“You need rest” Thor prodded gingerly   
“No. I need to…” She trailed off midsentence, her mind flicked elsewhere

“Alina, rest is what is best for you right now. You won’t recover otherwise” Bruce prompted 

“No” she waved vacantly 

Loki wanted to sigh at her stubbornness but his chest was so filled with anxiety over Alina’s state that he couldn’t even muster the breath. He took a few steps toward her and she simply glanced at him emptily. Thor nodded at him and in only a few strides he reached Alina and used his magic to gently knock her into unconsciousness. 

//

Alina stayed unconscious for nearly a week after this point. When she woke up she appeared a bit more with it, much better rested and her body was healing well. However, she still retained a pained vacantness as if she constantly had a part of her mind elsewhere. The team all knew that that place was back in The Shadows dungeon. Alina and Loki had still not talked about what had happened and not for lack of trying on Loki’s behalf. Alina seemed to be around the team less and less and deflected any attempts to talk about the mission, her imprisonment or the rescue. She also rejected any discussion of Loki training her again and instead would change the topic or simply leave the room. This worried the team greatly and upset Loki as he still thought back to how if he’d not been so stubborn and trained her earlier then she would have never been captured. Despite this, none of them had seen her even training in the gym or any of the facilities. Until today that is. 

It had been 2 weeks since she had woken up the second time and the team were headed down to the gym to run through a few attack strategies and do a bit of training with each other and each other’s expertise. As they entered they immediately noted that the protective glass was already down for a training round. In the middle of the room stood Alina, dressed in her old black ensemble. She did not notice their appearance on the other side of the glass. 

At first, she stood still and unmoving as drones began to deploy from the walls. Slowly, her hands began to glow followed by her eyes. They switched hypnotically between green, gold, blue, purple and as one drone bore down on her she moved fluidly, creating and ice wave and skidding down it gracefully. As she reached the end of the wave her eyes flicked purple and she blasted the drone with a ball of fire. The team exchanged glances – creating fire was new. She turned fluidly on one foot and sent a plethora of golden daggers into a set of drones behind her. Everything was going well until she attempted to activate the power stone again. She dropped to one knee and put a hand to her head in pain, shaking it back and forth. As a drone flew down on her she looked up with a hint of determination, seemingly fighting through the pain in her head she froze the drone and sent it rocketing into the adjacent wall. As the simulation ended she groaned, leaning back on her calves and staring at the ceiling. 

“Have you been training yourself?” Thor vocalized the question everyone was thinking

Alina glanced at them. 

“Yes”

“Lady Alina that is why my brother is here” Thor gestured 

“Your brother has gotten bored of me it seems” 

Everyone stared. 

“Anyway, I better let you get on with it” She continued, walking towards the back door. 

Loki glanced at the group and then followed her at haste. 

He caught up with her further down one of the bright corridors leading to the kitchen. Silently, he took a place walking beside her. She glanced at him, raised her eyebrows but she too said nothing. Quietly, they padded into the kitchen. Alina began to make a coffee when Loki cleared his throat and began to speak. 

“Alina, you’re struggling with the power stone – please, let me help you” he said quietly   
“Why?” she responded, her back still turned to him.   
“Because I am here to train you”  
She didn’t say anything in response. He paused.   
“Ali… Im sorry” he said quietly   
She turned to look at him, evaluating him with pursed lips. 

“I don’t blame you Loki. It’s fine, really. But I don’t need to be trained anymore, okay?”

“Why not?”

“I shouldn’t have to rely on anyone. I would rather just train myself”

“You shouldn’t think that”   
“Why not?” 

“Because… There is no way you will be able to control the stones quick enough without an experienced sorcerer helping you”   
“Quick enough?” she queried   
Internally, Loki froze. He had slipped up. Without missing a beat he made a dismissive noise.

“Quickly enough to be on missions and everything” 

“Right… Im sure I will be fine”

“Ali??”

“What?”

“Im sorry… All of this, all of this happened because of my distaste and inability to move past our disagreement and train you. Please, do not be the fool that I always seem to be”   
There was a tinge of pleading in his voice as he attempted to bargain with her. He was going to train her again but their interactions, even now, weren’t the same. He wanted her to trust him again like she did before. 

She considered him. She didn’t blame Loki at all but she couldn’t help but feel distant from not just him but everyone. They she didn’t feel like they were her team mates anymore and a gently, irking feeling lurked at the back of her mind. It felt like they weren’t telling her something. Perhaps something had happened during her time in Russia.   
Brushing this thought to the back of her mind, she sighed. 

“When do we start?” she asked

She knew that arguing would cause more unnecessary problems and in truth, she needed his help with the power stone. She found it hard to control and uncontainable. 

“Preferably soon” he replied 

Loki was pleased she had agreed to readily. He didn’t have the heart to argue with her today and he wanted to get her back into training with him as soon as possible. Despite this, he felt that she was deep in thought and he worried about his slip up earlier. He was going to have to mention that to Thor.


	36. Back to training

As the days passed, things slowly began to settle back down. The warriors 3 had returned home with an apt enough excuse and Alina had begun to return to her normal demeanour. Despite this she still retained an awfully hollow look in her eyes at times. This, however, worried the team far less than her screams at night when she would wake up from nightmares which they didn't have to guess the subject of. In the mornings she would look more tired than usual and they soon learned to stop questioning it. 

Today was her first session back with Loki and the team were considerably worried as to how it would turn out. As discussed, Loki and Alina were to now train in the open unless under the circumstance of a new stone which could have the potential to be dangerous. Loki fidgeted nervously whilst he wanted for Alina to arrive. He too was worried about the outcome of today. He was pleased that she had accepted him back to train her but was weary of her mental state and her power. The session they had walked in on days ago already demonstrated she possessed new, unchartered abilities and it worried him greatly. He also feared that she perhaps would conceal them from him out of distrust and that was why he continued to fidget. From behind double sided glass, Bruce noticed the God’s tension. 

“I have a feeling something is going to go horribly wrong” he said 

Everyone but Thor looked at him. 

“Don’t be so dire Banner” Tony joked 

“No, Bruce is right. My brother is unusually tense for himself. I feel we should be weary of the coming events” Thor rumbled, finally looking at the group, his arms still crossed. 

They turned back to the glass in silence as Alina entered the facility. She glanced at the glass and subtly raised an eyebrow. She could not see them but her look suggested she was well aware of their presence. Clint shifted uncomfortably. 

“Loki” she nodded as she took a seat on the floor across from him. 

“Hey” he replied, with a tinge of concern lacing his voice 

There was silence for a few moments as she looked directly into his eyes. Her lips open ever so lightly and her hair tousled. Loki shook himself internally and cleared his throat. 

“Right, so the power stone..” he trailed off 

“Yeah. Where do you want to start? Im the experiment” she replied 

“No that’s not... “ he trailed off again, already feeling her quiet hostility 

“Uh so the power stone is most usually characterised by the enhancement of the user's natural strength and abilities” he continued, eyeing her cautiously. 

Alina nodded once. 

“So, look we can start with some hand on hand and if it isn’t too much I want you to attempt to activate the power stone and overpower me” 

In response, she stood up swiftly and with such a manner that Loki felt shocked. She suddenly held a formidable aura about her which suggested she had the potential to harm him. He swallowed and turned toward her. As he did so, her eyes flashed a vivid purple and she lunged at him. He was taken by surprise, she was rarely one to attack first and previously had always waited for her sparring opponent to make a move. In one movement she sent a punch to his face and used her other arm to send him flying. As he landed with a thud across the training hall, he knew that was all the confirmation he needed to realise her sudden strength and stamina. 

Slightly winded, he rolled onto his side and propped himself up. Across the room Alina’s eyes had stopped glowing and she was sat cross legged back on the floor, watching him evenly. Mustering some strength, he made his way back over to her and sat across. 

“Well okay, so as you can see you’ve clearly gained some strength. I wouldnt be surprised if you could challenged Banner on a bad day now” 

This earned a small smile from her. 

“Uh anyway, so the main thing other than that with the Power Stone is the ability for the user to manipulate energy. So the other day you were able to create fire it seems. That will be a trait of the power stone. You are able to manipulate molecules around you to speed up enough to create fire without any harm to yourself” 

‘Do you want me to…?” she questioned 

“If you could” 

 

Apprehensively, her eyes shifted into their brilliant purple and she sat for a moment. Gently she raised a hand a ball of fire pooled in her hand. 

The session continued on like this. Loki continued to test her abilities, her strength and her ability to manipulate the energy around her. He learned that aside from fire she could manipulate weather and dictate storms. 

All was going well until Loki pushed too far. 

It had been little under an hour when Loki began to push her abilities, testing her against Starks drones when she pulled up a wall of fire destroying them all. With this, she collapsed to her knees and then onto her elbows.   
At first, Loki did not react. He was too focussed on the streaming wall of fire she had protruded from her hands and the damage it had caused. By the time he did react she was nearly unconscious on the floor. 

Instinctively, he dived for her and flipped her onto her back. She let out a small breath and stared up at him, her eyes slightly frosted over. 

“Alina” he shook her shoulders gently 

“Mmmnfg am good” she muttered back, clearly dizzied and weak. 

“Yeah clearly not” he muttered 

 

This earned him a weak glare. 

He pressed his fingers around his nose and sighed inwardly. He had once again gotten over zealous and pushed her too hard. 

“Alright” he said to himself quietly before swiftly picking her up. 

She protested in a disgruntled manner but felt a wave of dizziness wash over her and consequently came close to unconsciousness once again. 

Loki shook his head. He had been stupid. It was named the power stone for a reason and he had once again gotten caught up and forgotten that these were cosmic powers he was dealing with and not an enhanced being who already possessed these traits. He cursed himself as he glanced down at Alina’s limp, but still conscious form. She was already weak still from the weeks of torture and to even think about overly testing her abilities with the power stone of all stones was a stupid idea. 

Gently, he laid her down on her well made bed. She watched him with slightly hooded eyes. Her entire body felt heavy as if she had too much to drink. She could barely lift her arms let alone move her body enough to protest his actions. Silence ensued as she fought the heavy feeling. 

Loki sat beside her, lost in his own thoughts as the afternoon light streamed in through the large double windows that look out across the city. 

“Alina?” he questioned 

“Yeah?” she replied quietly 

“Im sorry” 

At this, she turned her head slightly and raised an eyebrow. 

“It seems the capability of these stones are new even to you. No point apologising” she said 

He looked at her, his eyebrows raised in concern. All he could think at that moment was how green her eyes were and how much he failed her. 

“No, im sorry because I let you get captured. I let you get hurt because I couldn’t but my anger and self pity aside enough to help you”

Her face remained even and she gave a slight shrug, clearly uncomfortable with discussion of her confinement. 

“Just forget about it okay” she replied rather wearily. 

Her tone caused his heart to race. She sounded defeated and hurt. 

“Look I… yeah” he said before trailing off 

He sat quietly for a few more minutes, trying to think of a way to make amends or something to say to make her realise his remorse. As he turned to talk, he realised she had fallen into unconsciousness. 

Gently, he shifted and checked her pulse before slipping out of the room. 

As he walked down the corridor away from his room his head swam. Every fibre in his being had wanted to stay on that bed next to her, let her wake up with him there and know that he truly was remorseful for his actions but he knew it would only worsen things. 

Slowly, he ambled into the living room where the rest of the Avengers sat waiting. Whatever conversation they were having silenced as he entered and their heads perked up. 

“She okay?” Sam asked tentatively 

“Yeah.. I dont know. She’s still weak” Loki replied 

The room seemed to pause for a second. 

“Do you think she will be okay?” Steve intejected 

“Of course she will be” Tony said 

Thor however noticed his brothers concerned look. 

“Loki…?” he questioned 

“She will be fine. She just needs more rest. I pushed her harder than I should of today and I fear she still does not trust me as she used to. Usually i would be able to get a comprehensive analysis of how she felt, what she felt and he control from her but she seemed reserved and unwilling to give me any insight” 

“She needs time. It’s only been a fortnight” Bucky said quietly from the corner of the couch 

“I hope so. I miss Sparkles” Tony replied back 

That night they all went to their rooms with their own worries about the situation. Thor worried greatly for what was to come for the girl and her prophecy. Bucky, Steve and Clint all worried for her as they would a sister. However, Loki worried the most. He questioned his own roll in her recovery. If she hadnt had been captured when she did, after their argument, would her recovery be faster? Would she trust him more? His heart sank as he thought about the possibility she would never trust him the same way. 

// 

The next morning however the team were surprised.


	37. God of Thunder

They entered the gym for their Friday morning group training session which Fury had demanded after finding out that Loki, Rhodey, Natasha and Bruce had all refused to train with the group. 

To their shock, Alina was already in there. She glanced over to them as they entered the room and she gave them a light smile, her eyes alight with wicked intent. She looked stronger, more herself and inwardly the team's spirits lifted.   
They watched as she danced around the room attacking drones. One moment she would be fighting with fire coming from her hands, the next with water and ice and the next she would be utilising her shields and procuring golden swords and daggers. As she finished off the last round, she rose from her crouch and turned to them, fiercely glowing and gave them a devilish smile. 

“Who’s next?” she teased, shrugging and unshrugging her shoulders 

“Yeah nah I’m out” Clint quipped back, grinning   
“Lady Alina, I am pleased to see you in such high spirits” Thor smiled 

Alina tilted her head to this a little and Thor feared he had pushed a little too far. 

“Thor I have worked for a number of covert agencies over my short time of being alive. You learn over time that continuing to allow an experience to affect you will cause far worse repercussions in the future. But I wasn’t joking, who’s up?” she said, returning to her none glowing state in a shimmer. 

This earned some raised eyebrows. 

“Well I guess that’s me then?” Thor shrugged as he stood slightly in front of the others 

“Alright Space muscles i’ll try and leave your face alone for Jane” 

Thor laughed heartily as Alina turned to walk away from him, changing her outfit to Tony’s custom designed shield catsuit in a golden shimmer. 

The others sat on the edge of the room lazily, watching as Thor followed Alina. 

She turned and gave him a small smile. 

“So how do you want to do th--” 

He was cut off as she conjured a shield and sent it flying at him, throwing him backwards into the air. He hit the back wall with a crash and rolled onto the mat below. 

“Well alright then” he said to himself, standing and summoning Mjolnir. 

The fight moved quickly as Thor swung at Alina. The team watched as she swiftly dodged his attempts. While Thor was powerful, Alina was tactical and quick and moved around Thor like a dancer. Things quickly began to get more heated as Alina threw Thor into the air with a single toss and extended it with an energy blast. Thor, in response, leapt into the air summoning lightning. He bore down and struck the ground, lightning radiating out from him. 

 

“For valhallas sake” Loki swore out annoyed. 

This one was going to hurt Alina and he rolled his eyes at his easily baited brother. 

As the lightning reached Alina, the team were left in shock. 

She squared herself and took a deep breath. She had anticipated this move from Thor at some point and welcomed it. She felt the surge of power as the lightning hit her and focussed all her energy on containing it. For a moment, she stood there. The room was silent bar the crackling of lightning. Her eyes fizzled and sparked with it and she breathed heavily as she stared at Thor. 

He looked at her in shock as he rose to his feet. 

“Gotcha” she whispered 

In a swift movement she redirected the lightning back towards him in a stream of energy. Thor was promptly thrown into the wall, this time leaving a large crack as his body connected. 

The room returned to silence. Alina returned to her normal state and brushed pieces of the wall off of her shoulder. Thor peeled himself off the ground and stared at her. 

“How?”

“Im a scientist, i took a wild guess about energy manipulation” she smiled 

“Man you just got your ass handed to you pointbreak” Stark laughed 

After some jiving at Thor’s expense the team began to train. To their surprise, Alina stuck around for this, providing energy blasts and daggers for the team to train against and dodge. 

At the nearly 2 hours mark she was spending time with Bucky and Nat practicing fast hand combat. They took turns taking on one another whilst the other watched and critiqued technique and footwork. Finally they gave into exhaustion. They were the last ones in the gym which wasn't unusual for the 3 of them by any stretch of the imagination. 

 

“I think I’ve had enough for the day” Natasha panted as they began to walk back to the corridor. 

“You dont have to tell me twice” Alina responded 

For a few moments the 3 walked quietly, each lost in their own thoughts or their own exhaustion. Suddenly, Bucky spoke. 

“So what’s going on?” he asked Alina 

She looked at him in question. 

“Look I spent years with Hydra, I spent years in that treatment. I know the experience. Im just going to be straight about this; up until yesterday you were reserved about all this, you were hurt okay. What’s changed?” 

Natasha elbowed him subtly. She felt he had gone too far and didn’t want Alina to become reserved to them once again. After all, up until today she had refused to address her imprisonment and simply exited the room every time it was brought up. To her surprise, Alina responded.   
“I know Buck. I’ve been stuck in my own thoughts about it - or rather lack thereof. It’s mostly a blur to me, those weeks there. I’ve been trying to remember, trying to find some way to explain the experience. I have been captured before, I have been tortured before. Haven’t we all? But there was something different about this. The whole time I felt like I was missing some piece of information horribly and that’s why I haven’t attempted to address it with any of you. Besides, we don’t even know if Demetri, the Shadow, is dead do we?” 

The rest of the team caught her final sentence as the trio walked into the sky lounge kitchen. They attempted to continue their business as to not pressure Alina or cause her to shut down to them but they all listened intently. 

“No, by the time we had returned to examine everything Hydra had already cleaned up most of their mess” Nat responded 

“And sorry about your dog tag by the way” Alina added to bucky 

“Probably did more harm than good in that situation anyway” he shrugged back with a small smile. He still regretted the situation that had put her in. 

“I still feel like I am missing something from all of this though. That’s mostly why I have been so reserved. I keep having these dreams and in them I always get so close to figuring things out but something happens and it’s snatched from me.” 

The team shifted uncomfortably at this. They all knew the information she was misisng. 

“Well if that son of a bitch creep is alive anywhere we’ll find him” Sam chimed in, attempting to recover the awkwardness. 

“And I will personally dismember him” Tony said gleefully. 

“Nobody is dismembering anybody in this house because I will be the one cleaning up the mess” Pepper said offhandedly as she walked out the door. 

 

“Never any fun” Tony grumbled like a sulky child. 

“Look I know you have all wanted to address Russia and that’s what has me so caught up is that there isnt much to address there. I keep seeking something more to it, another explanation perhaps but there just isnt one. I was taken because of the stones, I was wanted as a soldier and I was treated accordingly. There isn’t much more to it. It’s no one’s fault, it just happened” Alina finalised, glancing at Loki slightly as she said her final sentence. 

“Doesn’t mean I wont find and kill the bastard if he’s still out there” Clint said dryly 

Alina smiled at this and shrugged. 

“Do we have any leads on that?” Rhodey asked 

Alina glanced at him. Since her return he had been far more invested in her and less offhanded than he had been previously. She suspected it was guilt. 

“No, we don’t. But we are on constant watch” 

The team whipped around. Fury stood at the door, Coulson by his side. 

“Dad you’re home!” Tony said with false, childlike excitement. 

Fury stared him down in his usual unimpressed fashion. To his side, Coulson hid a laugh. 

“Agent Everton I have been calling you for an hour now” Fury said, turning to alina. 

“Been in the gym sorry” she shrugged 

He raised his eyebrows at this and looked at Thor who also shrugged. 

“I did not realise you were back at training” he said 

“Ask Thor” she sassed 

Tony and Sam snorted loudly. 

“It was a one off” Thor defended meekishly 

“I beg to differ” Loki quipped in, examining his nails. 

“Is that wise? Are we sure you’re… uh.. stable enough? ” Coulson asked 

“That is why my brother is here Son of Coul” 

“She’s training with your brother again?” Fury asked skeptically 

“Yes, i am training her again. Unless you think it’s better we just let the infinity gems exist uncontrollable and have a repeat of the last issues” Loki snarked 

Fury sighed and held back an eyeroll. 

“Whatever. Everton, I need you in the labs asap” he said 

“Yes sir” 

Promptly, Alina followed Coulson and Fury out of the room. Coulson handed her a folder and said something quietly, she nodded in response. As they left, the team exchanged glances. 

“She’s getting more powerful” Steve said from his seat in the corner. 

“Yeah but how COOL was it though” Tony grinned 

“She can literally manipulate energy and organic matter to the point where she can bend elements” Bruce said over his glasses 

The team continued to discuss Alina’s show in training earlier but Loki remained pensive. Thor glanced at his brother and noticed the slight worry on his face. 

“Loki….?” he questioned 

The team turned their attention to the raven haired brother who gave them a concerned look. 

“He’s right. I don’t have the capability to control her power, especially if she continues to acquire more Infinity Stones, there’s only so much I can do and while I am an excellent sorcerer, my abilities are still limited. In comparison to what she may be capable of.” 

“What do we do then?” Bruce asked 

“There isn’t much we can do. I am unaware of anyone else who would be capable helping to contain, train or control her powers. And she needs to continue honing them. I can only keep an eye on how they progress” Loki replied 

“Well you know what I think we all need? Some down time” Tony interrupted 

The team groaned. 

“No, seriously! We should all go into the city tomorrow and do something. Hey let’s get waffles!” he grinned 

“What in the norns are those” Thor asked 

Loki looked equally as confused 

“Oh you have got to be kidding me” Rhodey said 

“Yip it’s settled, we are going to my favourite waffle house tomorrow. There will be NO opting out.” Tony clapped 

“Cant tomorrow big guy, remember, got a briefing?” Nat said from the kitchen 

“FINE god you ruin everything. We will go on Sunday then” 

Nat rolled her eyes but secretly she agreed that after Alina’s rescue they had all been rather tense and needed an outing. Besides, not much could go wrong going for waffles in New York apart from Thor smashing stuff when he finally realises what a waffle is.


	38. Waffles

The next day was spent in debriefs for upcoming assignments. Hydra activity had not died down as much as they had thought it would after Russia and it left them with a number of things to chase up. Fury spent from 10am until 6pm lecturing them. Everyone besides Alina was in attendance as Fury explained she was still working on the case he had put her onto the day before. 

As Fury finally dismissed them, Tony groaned loudly. 

“Jesus Christ that could not have taken any longer” 

“Dont tempt me Stark” Fury’s voice rang out from behind them as they exited the glass walled briefing room. 

“I regret installing that room” Tony muttered 

Grouchy, they made their way into the lounge. They were all sick of hearing Fury’s voice, reading files and looking over case reports. 

Clint threw himself onto the couch dramatically. 

“Remind me why I work here again” he said, looking at Natasha from his upside down position. 

“I wish I could Barton” she replied 

“Uh because you get to spend time with me of course” Tony chimed 

“That just makes me start to question it too” Sam said 

“Ya not helping yourself here Tony” Rhodey joked 

“He rarely ever does” Natasha yelled from the kitchen where she was pouring herself a glass of scotch. 

“OOOOHHH Nat! You know the drill if you pour yourself one you pour me one too” Tony yelled back 

Natasha rolled her eyes and reached for another glass. In the corner, Loki settled himself gracefully into a chair and conjured himself a glass of midgardian whiskey and a book. Tony glanced at him. 

“Well that’s just not fair. That better not be my liqour” 

Loki simply raised an eyebrow from over his book, a slight smile forming at the corners of his lips. 

“Bastard” Tony muttered 

Both Steve and Bucky left for the evening to go visit an old war friend who still resided in New York. Clint promptly decided he was over Tony and he too left, to face time his wife. Bruce followed suit, excusing himself to his lab. This left the two Gods, Tony, Nat, Sam, and Rhodey. The evening was spent in it’s lulls with conversation flowing here and there, picking up the more everyone had to drink. 

At about 11pm Natasha decided to call it quits, before Tony got too drunk and started playing his ridiculously childlike games. 

“Right I am off to bed now” 

“Awww come on Nat. Why do you have to spoil everything?” Tony sulked 

“Because if I don't, you will but 100 times worse” she said, standing and shaking her head. 

Slowly, everyone else began to retire for the night much to a disgruntled Tony’s disapproval. 

//

The next morning the Tower was rudely awoken by Tony’s voice over the intercom. 

“IIIITTTSSS WAFFLE TIME BITCHES” 

Slowly, the team made their way to the kitchen where Alina was already sitting on a bar stool next to Tony. 

“I told you they wouldn’t appreciate that” she said to Tony as the team grumbled through the living room and kitchen area.

“Im surprised you managed to be up before us considering your drinking habits” Natasha growled grumpily 

“I’d be up at whatever time for Waffle house” Tony grinned gleefully. 

Loki apparated into the room behind Clint, causing him to jump and swear at the God. Loki smiled at him and then glanced around the room. His eyes connected with Alina and he looked her over. He had not seen her dressed casually in a very long time. Since she had been back she had been confined to SHIELD suits, Tony’s ridiculous costumes or her black training ensemble. Today she was dressed black jeans, a fitted grey shirt and a slightly lighter grey overcoat. Her hair was tousled to one side and she looked far more relaxed than he had seen her in a long time. Suddenly he noticed he was staring. He couldn’t help it, he had gotten caught up. It was nice to see her looking untense for longer than he could remember. 

“Alright is this everyone?” Tony said excitedly 

“What on earth is going on now?” Pepper said, walking into the room dressed for a business meeting which Tony probably should have been attending. 

“Sorry pep, Avengers only waffle outing” Tony grinned 

“Oh you poor souls” she said sympathetically 

“I still do not know what a waffle is. Is it dangerous?” Thor questioned 

Pepper put her face in her hands. 

“Oh my god” 

“Dont worry pointbreak, its only the best thing of all time” 

Rather tiredly, they made their way to Tony’s company cars and filed in. Alina sat comfortably between Loki and Sam as she thought about the chaos that was about to ensue. Leaving the thought behind she began to engage in a conversation with Sam about Fall. It was the beginning of the season, just as the leaves were beginning to turn and there was a crisp breeze in the air foreshadowing the winter to come. 

// 

To his right, Sam had engaged Alina in conversation about the weather. Loki grimaced, annoyed at the man who was clearly at some degree infatuated with the girl. As they continued to chat he allowed thoughts to fester on how if this were Asgard he would imprison the man for even attempting to court Alina. Besides she was the most powerful being in the universe, he shouldn't even be allowed to talk to her let alone be in such close proximity, touching her even. 

As he was consumed in his thoughts, they pulled up to a restaurant. It was on the edge of central park, on a quiet little corner looking directly into the park and surrounded by huge oaks overhanging the pavement and the front entrance. It was quaint looking and quiet enough that they were not going to be disturbed by passersbys, especially considering there were none in the first place.

They exited the car and Alina noticed Loki giving her a strange look. 

“Everything okay?” She asked 

“Hm? Of course. I was just thinking about were Stark could possibly be taking us” he lied 

“Dont worry. It’s not too out of the gate” She smiled back teasingly 

Inside, Thor and Loki were introduced to waffles. Much to Thor's absolute delight. The place Tony had taken them offered pages and pages of different toppings, flavours and styles of waffles, it was nearly overwhelming. Thor chose a strawberry and chocolate combo and his eyes lit up when he was brought his plate. 

“It’s like a giant organic pop tart!” He grinned through a full mouth 

Tony looked at him. 

“Dont you ever compare them to pop tarts. These are the real deal big fullah” he scoffed 

Thor took no notice and continued to devour his meal. 

Both Loki and Alina went with a various assortment of berries on top of their waffles. Much to Loki’s surprise he actually enjoyed the midgardian sweet treat even if the fruits weren’t nearly as sweet and full as Asgardian delicacies. 

Together they all sat and ate their waffles. It was a pleasant atmosphere. The morning was crisp but the sun filtered lazily through the tree leaves. Few people meandered the streets outside and a gentle autumn breeze blew, rustling the leaves and tousling peoples hair. Inside, the avengers talked, swapping stories from missions and adventures and teasing one another about various mistakes made. As they finished up, Steve suggested a walk. 

“Well we havent really shown Loki or Thor much of New York and this end of the park is a lovely walk” 

“God you’re such an old man Steve” Tony quipped 

“I actually agree with Steve. It’d be nice” Natasha said 

“Oh you’ve gone weak widow” Tony said 

“Now who’s being the old man” she replied 

This earned a giggle from Clint which caused Tony to resolve on actually wanting to go for a walk. 

They meandered out into the street and crossed the road into the park. It was a quiet morning and they wandered down the pathways, watching the leaves swirl at their feet, each having their own conversations. It was peaceful and enjoyable until Thor yelled out. 

“WHAT IS THAT?” 

 

The team immediately jumped into defence mode only to realise what Thor was pointing at. Near a rubbish bin sat a squirrel chewing on a fallen acorn. 

The team burst out howling in laughter. Tony had tears coming from his eyes and each time he attempted to speak, he simply choked up. Eventually, Steve came to his senses enough to explain the creature to a very confused look Thor. 

“It's a squirrel Thor. They’re harmless and they just eat acorns and stuff and live in trees” 

Seeing the humorous side to his reaction, Thor too began to laugh. They all stood there, still giggling away at Thor’s alarm when he looked towards Alina and suddenly stopped laughing. 

“Uhhh” he said 

Around Alina’s feet was a ring of light red swirling energy. She looked at the others with a confused look on her face. 

“This isn’t my doing” she said 

Just as she finished her sentence she was pulled downwards and disappeared completely. 

In her place was left a smoking business card. Thor stood on it cautiously before picking it up and reading it. 

 

177A Bleecker Street  
NYC


	39. A Strange Occurrence

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> PSA: I wrote this chapter super drunk so Im so sorry for the spelling mistakes that may be in there

The team looked at each other in a mixture of confusion and concern. 

“It’s an apartment building in the Greenwich Neighbourhood” Tony said, already looking it up on his phone.

“But how….?” Steve said, looking at the place were Alina had just stood. 

Thor shrugged and looked at Loki. 

Loki shook his head in response. He had no clue what happened nor what being could have done that. 

“Time to gear up?” Tony questioned 

“We dont have time. We must address this now” Thor replied. 

They all exchanged a look of knowing concern before turning and walking in the direction Tony had indicated previously. 

// 

Alina felt herself be pulled downwards and suddenly she was falling. Her hair whipped around her face and she braced for some sort of impact but after a full minute it never came, she continued to fall and as she opened her eyes she realised she was in some sort of vortex. She couldn’t fight it, she couldn’t move. She was simply stuck. 

As she attempted to consider what she could possibly do, she felt herself being sucked down harshly. She immediately flailed, then braced for an impact but instead landed with a thud in someones arms. Breathing heavily she looked up and found herself shocked at the person she was staring at. 

The man was tall, with a face full of beard, green-blue eyes and well-kept dark hair. He seemed to be dressed in a strange blue ensemble that resembled somewhere between armour and a costume and was complete with a velvety red cloak. 

“Well this certainly wasn’t what I was expecting” he said in a smooth american accent 

Alina shivered. She wasn’t sure whether it was his accent, his demeanour or the weird power surge she was getting from him but she immediately felt goosebumps raise on her skin. 

Gently, he set her down and examined her. She stood completely still as he looked her up and down quizzically. He raised his hands and made a circle motion,a golden circle came out in front of one hand and he stepped towards her. Instinctively she moved backwards and he stopped. 

“Oh, no. This won't hurt you I promise” he said in the same smooth accent

She nodded slightly and stood still as he ran them over her. Suddenly she felt a rush of power and her eyes lit up and glowed gold. She looked back at him. She had no control over the sudden surge and couldn’t pinpoint where it had come from. He looked at her with interest. 

“Ah so I was right” he muttered 

“About what?” she said, managing to calm herself back to her normal green eyes 

“You’re a powerful sorceress. Unprecedentedly so” 

“And who are you?” 

“Oh! How rude of me! Im Dr. Stephen Strange and I protect this sanctuary” he replied, still eyeing her curiously. 

The girl standing in front of him had brilliant green eyes and he had watched as he had activated at least the tiniest bit of the power she clearly possessed. He couldn't help but be curious. 

“Nice to meet you if you can call that a meeting. I’m Dr. Alina Everton” 

“Doctor of what” he asked suspiciously 

“Forensic Science, Biomedicine” she replied with raised eyebrows. 

“Oh good I thought you were going to say something ridiculous like philosophy” 

Alina laughed and then checked herself. She still had no idea what was going on. 

“So why am I here?” 

“Right well take a seat” he said 

She looked around in confusion. They were standing in front of the stairs in the lobby of an apartment. There were no seats.  
In a space of a blink she was suddenly in a study with armchairs and bookcases. 

“What. The. Fuck” she said, her head spinning from the sudden change. 

“You do better than most people. Usually they flail around and fall over for 5 or so minutes before I can even begin to talk to them. Now take a seat” 

She sat down across from him. 

“How did you do that?” 

“Im a sorcerer” he replied simply 

“No shit sherlock.”

He raised an eyebrow and considered her again. She had the demeanour of an assassin but the power of the ancient one. She was beautiful too with her dark hair and bright eyes. Inwardly he rolled his eyes at himself. 

“I’ve sensed a great power enter this city for some time now. It disappeared for a little while, from New York at least, and then it returned. I traced it to an organic being, that being was you and I transported you here. My job is to protect this planet from beings who may pose a threat to the wellbeing of this world. I had no idea if you were of earth or not” 

“Well I am” 

“Clearly” 

They stared at eachother for a moment. Both taking in each other's appearance 

“What can you do?” Strange asked 

“Depends. I can control elements” she said, glowing her eyes purple and producing a ball of fire in her hand, before quickly turning it to ice. 

Strange leaned forward in his seat. 

“I can create shields and weapons” she continued, switching her eyes to a bright gold and bringing up a shield before him, shattering it and then procuring ice daggers which were sent flying into the wall. 

She glanced at him again and then changed her outfit to Tony’s custom catsuit and back to her casual clothes in a gold shimmer. To her right, she sent a few books flying out of the shelf. 

“Among other things” she finished quietly. 

“Have you been to the compound?” he asked 

She looked at him confused. 

“The compound? What compound?” 

He stared at her. Who was this woman? 

“Nothing.. I was just… how?” he said 

It was in that moment Alina’s eyes caught the necklace around his neck. She stared at it and then raised her eyes to his. 

“You have an Infinity Stone” she said so quietly it was barely audible. 

Strange glanced down. 

“The eye of Agamotto? Yes” he responded in disdain  
“I have 4 others…” she whispered 

Their eyes met in sheer realisation. 

“Where ? How?” he asked incredulously 

She once again lit her eyes and hands up glowing and shifted between colours. Realisation suddenly dawned upon him. This woman was 4 times as powerful as he could ever hope to be.

“The Soul Stone, The Space stone, The Mind stone, The Power Stone” she said, her eyes falling back into a forest green. 

“And the time stone…” he said, looking down at his chest. 

“Who are you?” he said, the room suddenly switching. 

They were back at the base of the stairs, standing face to face. Dr. Strange held her chin between two fingers, tilting her head upwards and looking into her eyes. She stared back at him defiantely but matched him in curiosity. The tension in the room was intoxicating as each one challenged the other to back down.

Strange found himself drawn into her deep green eyes. He felt an urge to protect her but also an urge to challenge her. It was an intensity he had yet to feel. The moment was broken suddenly as Wong apparated out of thin air at the top of the stairs. 

Strange had forgotten he was present, watching. 

Alina jumped. Strange let go of her chin and the both turned to the stairs. 

“She is powerful beyond the compounds knowledge” Wong said addressing Strange 

“Yeah thanks for that. As if I hadn’t realised at this point” Strange replied in an annoyed tone. 

Wong looked at him with a blank face and then turned his eyes onto Alina. She stared back, her eyes fierce and her features sharp. 

“Hello” she said 

“Hello” he replied back 

“Oh do be polite. This is master Wong, he is also a Sorcerer of sorts” Strange interjected 

“Doctor Alina Everton” she nodded in Wong’s direction 

“Be careful” he said to Strange, ignoring Alina and once again disappearing in thin air. 

“Was he here the whole time?” She questioned 

“Yiip” Strange replied 

“Still here now?” she asked 

“No, not anymore”

“Okay So why bring me here? What’s your game plan now?” 

“You know to be honest I dont really have one. I was expecting you to be some sort of alien, or terrifying threat to the universe” 

“No one said im not the latter” she smiled 

“No, but you’re cooperative which is more than I could ask for” 

“Can I leave then?” she asked 

“Nope” he said in a cocky manner that she had begun to get used to. 

“Why not?” 

“Because I am not done with you yet” he drawled 

“What else is there to it? I’ve shown you the gems” she replied 

“I want to understand your power. I still do not know if you are a danger or not” 

“Do I seem like one?” 

“To an extent” he replied, as he took as stride forward, towering over her

“If I was a danger why didn’t you do this far earlier?” She questioned, her eyebrows raised and arms crossed 

“I wasn’t aware ‘far earlier’ and by the time I was you had disappeared” he shot back 

“Yeah Hydra got me on that one” 

“Makes a bit more sense” 

“Yeah well to be honest I would have preferred to be here” she replied snarkily 

“Oh really…?” he smirked 

She cocked her head and gave him a look. 

He felt drawn to her and enjoyed the power play that was currently taking place. 

“So what im stuck here?” she asked 

“Well… yes” 

It was at this moment that the large oak doors were pushed open and the Avengers appeared, dressed in their apparel from breakfast that morning. Strange gently pulled Alina behind him. 

“Hello there” he quipped 

The team looked at him and then to Alina who looked relatively pissed off but unhurt. 

“I think you have our friend” Tony said 

“Yes well I do think I need to borrow her” Strange replied 

“It’s outside the leasing hours unfortunately” Tony smiled back

Alina let out a very quiet groan. Could Tony ever be serious? 

“What a shame, is there an extra charge for that? Im happy to pay it” Strange raised his eyebrows 

“Enough. Alina?” Loki interjected 

“Im fine” she replied 

“If you dont mind she’ll be leaving now” Thor said 

“Nope” 

Stephen’s hands started to glow and he conjured the same circles he had earlier. It was at this that both Loki and Thor glanced at the amulet. 

“The time stone?” Thor said 

“Oh for the love of… not you too” Stephen rolled his eyes 

Alina attempted to step around him but he took her around the waist and pulled her back toward him. He noticed Loki’s lips twitch. He was well aware of who they were and what they were capable of, despite feigning innocence to it. He found the God’s annoyance comical. 

“How did you get that?” Steve asked stoically 

“It’s been here for centuries as the eye of agamotto” Stephen replied 

“The time stone has been on Midgard?” Thor questioned 

“On wha…? Oh speak English for god sake” Stephen replied 

“Midgard is Earth, same thing” Alina responded toward him. 

He had momentarily forgotten he was still holding on to her and glanced down at her. He pulled her in tighter, his grip hard. Partly because he wanted her there, partly because he couldn't afford for the Avengers to take her just yet, and partly because he was enjoying pissing off the raven haired god in front of him. It gave him joy to watch the god’s lips twitch and he enjoyed the girls skin brushing his and her headstrong attitude. 

“Mmmhmm” he hummed, still eyeing up the Avengers. 

“Let her go and we will leave peacefully” Bucky said 

“I'm sorry but I cant. She is too much of an unpredictable danger right now and only I have any ability to control that” Strange replied 

She shifted in his arms slightly and he pulled her in, earning another snarl from Loki. 

“She isn’t dangerous. We have had her under our watch for some time now” Natasha replied, eager to exit the strange building. 

“Not very well clearly”

 

“Look she isn't a threat. Surely we can work something out” Steve sighed

“I doubt anyone else can mediate or contain her sort of power” Strange answered 

“I have been doing so for months now” Loki hissed

“Oh really well where was she for the past few weeks then? Strange hummed 

This hit a chord with Loki.

“You think I am second rate to you?” He growled 

“Yip” 

Loki lunged forward. 

“Bye now” Strange sighed, conjuring a portal causing Loki to disappear 

Everyone looked at the spot were Loki had once stood. 

“Auuhhhh” Thor hummed 

“Oh dont worry, he’s fine. Just trapped in a loop” Strange shrugged 

“Fascinating” Banner said, taking off his glasses and examining the ground were Loki had been. 

“Bruce Banner?” Strange questioned 

“Uh yeah”

“I’m a fan of your work” 

“Oh, uh, thank you” Banner replied 

“Okay not the point” Tony said, getting a little jealous 

“He’s right. You cannot just keep Alina here” Steve agreed 

“It is my duty to protect from dangerous beings. She cannot fully control her magic and therefore comes under that. I cannot let her leave knowing she is out of control” 

“Her abilities will be stronger and more uncontrolled around you since you posses the time stone” Thor added 

“That doesn’t excuse anything. She is still uncontrolled” 

“Do you think you can control me?” Alina asked curiously 

“What?” 

“Well by keeping me here what would that change?” she asked 

“I’d be able to teach you to control yourself and access your magic” Strange replied 

“So that’s the end game. You want to teach her?” Bucky asked 

“Well there would be little point keeping her here otherwise. I would’ve just killed her or imprisoned her in a loop in the case that i thought she was totally unstable” 

“Ookaay… well does she have to remain here? Surely you can teach her at Avengers Tower?” Bruce asked 

“That ugly thing?” Strange grimaced 

“It’s not.. Ugly” Tony muttered 

“It’s a flaw in the cities skyline and you know it” Strange replied 

“Hate to break it up ladies, but do you want to maybe drop Loki back now?” Alina asked 

Strange allowed a smirk to play on his lips. 

With a woosh and a thud, Loki fell through from nothingness and whacked the ground. Disoriented he stood up, glaring daggers at Strange. 

“I have been FALLING for 10 minutes now” he hissed 

“Well don’t be such a nuisance next time” Strange snarked 

“I hope I will be assured that in that time you have come to the conclusion of Alina leaving then” Loki growled 

“Yes” 

Loki sneered jeeringly. 

“But, I will be training her from now onwards” Strange smirked 

Loki blanched. 

“Excuse me” 

“She needs to be trained by a human proficient in magic. The reason you have become so UTTERLY useless with her is because you are not human. There are some forms you cannot understand” 

“You will not teach her” Loki hissed 

“Brother, he is correct. She has human form and human endurance, for the most part, perhaps he can teach her what she is yet to learn” Thor suggested gently 

“I will teach her. She needs to understand Asgardian magic and control more” Loki replied 

“Excuse me do I get any say in this?” Alina asked, still held slightly behind Stephen Strange. 

Strange sighed loudly and rolled his eyes. 

“Well the other option is i imprison you” 

“Oh get a hold of yourself will you” Alina dug 

“I do apologise darling” Strange replied with equal sarcasm. 

“Look, you’re both right. Mr. Strange has things to offer that we are unaware of as of yet, and there is another infinity gem. I feel that either way I would be drawn to him regardless because of that. It feels unavoidable. But, Loki also understands magic of other realms and understands the control I already have. I don’t see why you both don’t teach me” 

“It’s Doctor” Stephen muttered 

“She’s right” Natasha added, getting thoroughly sick of these childish men. 

“Perhaps” Strange said offhandedly

“Look, let us leave with her now and you can come to the Tower and train her at will” Steve bargained 

“There are artifacts and knowledge here that may become necessary” Strange replied 

“We cannot risk her being harmed or captured” Steve replied 

“Do you really think I can't protect her? How much safer was she with all of you?” Strange said sarcastically 

“Okay well how about you teach her at the tower and when this…. Space… is required she can come here” Bruce asked 

“I suppose that could work” Strange replied 

“God this must be what it feels like to get stuck in a custody battle” Alina muttered 

“Oh don’t get bitter” Strange said, turning and lifting her chin with one finger. 

“Im not a child. I do have some level of autonomy and the same amount of Phd’s as you do, Doctor” she said, the corners of her mouth twitching in a small smile. 

“No.. you’re not” he drawled, his eyes raking over her slowly 

To his side, her heard Loki hiss. He smirked, pushed a piece of Alina’s hair behind her ear and then straightened himself. 

“Very well then. I will see you on Tuesday at that hideous design fail” he smiled, turning with a flourish and walking up the stairs, his cape fluttering. 

They all stood uncertainly. 

“Bye for now” he said, without turning around. Suddenly they were stood on the street outside. 

“What the fuck” Clint said 

“Yeah that’s a thing he can do” Alina replied 

“Are we sure we want him around you?” Tony asked 

“Tony, I am an adult you know. I do get a choice in these things” 

“Yeah I guess, it’s just we don’t know what he can do clearly” 

“He has the Time stone. Either way it seems that I was going to end up there. We can’t fight this, he could be valuable” she shot back 

“I don’t like him” Loki added 

“Of course you don’t” Alina sighed 

“Loki I think the world of you. But you must concede this Doctor has assets that could be useful to us” 

Loki shifted uncomfortably at the sentiment and gave his brother a concerned look.  
“He has an infinity gem” Steve said 

“And obviously some kind of control over it” Banner added 

The team knew they had little choice and they could not risk having the Doctor as another enemy, especially if he had an interest in Alina. 

“He’s a bit cocky” Tony shrugged 

Everyone looked at him incredulously. 

“Unbelievable” Natasha said 

“What?!” 

They began to walk back down the street, heads shaking at Tony.


	40. The Mandela Effect

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> PSA: Trigger warning for graphic depictions of death and violence.

Tuesday came about faster than expected and the Avengers suddenly realised that they had no way of contacting Stephen Strange. Loki smiled smugly to himself as they sat in the living room, discussing their options. Natasha, Clint, Rhodey and Thor were all out on a reconnaissance mission which left the rest of them pondering whether Strange had a number. 

“Well I for one didn’t want him here anyway” Tony huffed 

“It seems we are both on the same page about not wanting myself to be seen in this god awful monstrosity of a building” Strange replied, walking through a portal. 

“We have a door ya know” Steve said

“Once again, I did not want to be seen walking through the door of this hideous thing” 

“Okay enough squabbling over your toys boys. Doctor?” Alina asked, waiting for an indication of where he’d like to begin 

“All I am saying is that whatever designer was hired for his place should be fired immediately” 

Alina stared at him, lips pursed in annoyance. There was a small moment where he stared back, a playful smile playing on his lips as if he was pleased with himself. 

“Are you finished?” She asked, her voice dripping with sarcasm 

Stephen raised an eyebrow at her. 

“Do we have anymore more suitable than the family lounge to practice” he replied, matching her sarcasm 

// 

Tony showed them to a new room he had erected in the building, somehow without anyone either noticing or commenting on it. It had frosted glass walls so that nothing could be seen in or out except the jagged outlines of whoever stood in it. Inside there was a couch, a few armchairs, a bookshelf full with books and corner with what Strange noted to be medical equipment. 

“This room is monitored to check the medical well being of it’s occupants. It measures heart rate, blood pressure, body scans, the like. It also contains your magic to an extent that if most things that may go wrong, shouldn’t effect anyone outside this room. It means you can train and know exactly what’s going on” Bruce explained 

Strange lifted both his eyebrows. He doubted the room would contain any bending of time or reality but that was not of concern currently and in the interest of spending time alone with Dr. Everton, he decided not to press the matter. 

“Very well” he said waving a hand 

“Hurt her and I will kill you” Bucky said before turning and exiting the room. 

Steve gave an apologetic smile and followed suit. Sam simply shrugged in agreement with Bucky and gave Strange a pointed look before also turning and leaving the room. 

“Alright, come on Reindeer Games” Tony said to Bucky 

Loki gave him a confused look. He wasn’t seriously considering leaving Alina alone in here. Besides, they were BOTH meant to be teaching her. Strange gave him a bored look and a shooing gesture. 

“Run along now” 

“I believe the agreement was we were both meant to be teaching” Loki said 

“And for the first session at least I will be doing one on one for the pure reason of wanting to get a gauge on her control, her abilities and her power without you babysitting her like she’s a preteen” Strange quipped 

Alina put her hand to the bridge of her nose and watched the two quarrel. 

“Loki just leave it just this once. He makes a fair point, this room is monitored and once again you are all forgetting I am highly trained covert agent within multiple agencies with a PhD and many, many years of experience in the lab and the field.” she said, exasperated 

He looked at her, his eyebrows furrowed gently. His eyes flicked between the two; Alina sat in one armchair and Strange in the other. Defeated, he turned and left the room. Tony rolled his eyes and looked at the pair. 

“Behave” he said. 

Strange scoffed as Tony closed the door behind him. He turned his body towards Alina and eyed her up. She returned his gaze, one eyebrow slightly raised. Her hair flopped over her eye slightly in it’s usual soft waves and she sat with an elbow on the arm of the chair, one finger between her lips, considering him patiently. 

He cleared his throat. 

“Okay. So we are going to start slow. Unlike the imbeciles outside, I do not wish to over exert you to begin with. I am going to try and trigger your magic through your own will rather than have it triggered by any stressful events surrounding you. The Asgardian’s seem to think that magic needs to be event triggered and then controlled rather than the other way around. Since you are human of anatomy, you cannot control your abilities as readily as they may be able to in a high intensity event”

“Okay. So how do you want to do this?” 

“I don’t want you to focus on the Infinity stones themselves as a source of power. The fact that you can wield them indicates that regardless of them, you would be able to wield magic just as I can” 

“You didn’t exactly answer my question, Doctor” 

“Sit” he indicated to the rug in front of them 

She mirrored his motion and sat cross legged in front of him. 

“Much of human control on magic comes down to discipline and control. It took me years. I doubt it will take you anywhere near as long all things considering. However you need to practice this before anything else” 

“So, we’re going to meditate” 

“Yip” 

“For how long?” 

He simply smiled at her. She let out a little breath and then settled into a comfortable position, her legs crossed and her hands on her knees. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes. She allowed herself to explore the different power she felt running through her veins, attempting to separate one stone from the other. Slowly, she lost track of time. She moved through each stone, allowing herself to feel it and then move on. Eventually she had run through them all and was left with herself, her own potential that was left besides the stones. To her surprise, she felt a power pulsing there which she had never identified before. It felt like there were stars pouring through her veins.

// 

Through the security camera’s, the team checked in on the pair. 

“How long have they been like that?” Natasha asked, back from their mission. 

“Coming up 3 and a half hours” Steve said, his arms crossed as he too watched the cameras. 

“They’re just… meditating?” Clint asked, confused slightly. 

“I think perhaps this is a good thing. Besides, we can’t possibly know what’s actually going on. They could be in some weird alternate reality or something” Nat said, chewing on a muesli bar. 

Loki huffed. The Doctor was wasting time. All they were doing was meditating together. 

“Time to break this up I think” Tony said 

“Are you sure that’s wise?” Thor asked 

“It’s been nearly 4 hours I think it’s fine if we at least go see what’s up under the pretence of checking on them” Tony shrugged, pleased with his plan.

For once, Loki found himself agreeing with Tony. They made their way towards the opaque glass room. 

Quietly, they opened the door. Neither of the 2 on the floor moved or acknowledge their presence. The team stood there in silence, slightly awkwardly. After a moment, Strange seemed to sigh loftily and open his eyes, not moving out of his straight-backed sitting position. 

“Yes?” he asked, annoyed. 

“Just checking in to see how it was going” Steve said   
“All of you?” Strange raised an eyebrow 

The team shifted uncomfortably. 

Strange shook his head and muttered something incomprehensible under his breath. He looked toward Alina who still had not moved to acknowledge the team, she looked peaceful, her eyes still closed and her face still. 

“Doctor Everton?” he said

For a minute she did not move. He watched her curiously, the room silent. Slowly, she opened her eyes and Strange immediately realised what was going on. Her eyes were no longer their usual deep forest green. Instead, her entire eye was a deep midnight blue and seemed to be filled with stars like the night sky. Her veins glowed a light silvery-blue. 

“Doctor Strange” she answered, fully in control of her situation. 

The team stared, not daring to move or say a word. Thor and Loki exchanged a glance, Loki’s mouth slightly open. Alina had never demonstrated any power or control over her celestial heritage. Both brother’s thought it well out of her potential or control and believed it to be so little in her that she wouldn’t be able to identify with it anyway, particularly since they were under the impression that the stones would over power it. 

“Well then, you’re a quick learner. Well done” Strange said carefully, watching the girl. 

He had not expected her to gain any control over her own magical abilities aside from the stones that quickly. He simply wanted to take their session as an opportunity for her to set aside the stones as the source of her power. A small smile curled on her face. Slowly, her eyes faded back to green and her veins returned to normal. 

“That’s new” she remarked 

“No it’s not. It’s always been there. You’ve just been taught that it’s not. Remember, regardless of the stones you are a magic wielder” he replied 

She hummed lightly as she considered this. 

“Maybe I should try meditation” Tony said 

“Dont waste your time” Strange snarked back 

Tony rolled his eyes. 

“Okay you can go now thanks” he sulked 

“I will be back on Friday” Strange said to Alina. 

In a flash of light, he opened a gateway and strolled through it. 

//

The next few days were action packed with missions that they had allowed to fall by the wayside. By Thursday evening, every single one of them was exhausted. It was going on 6pm when in tracked Alina, Bucky, Steve and Sam from the final mission from that week. They were covered in dirt and mud and blood. The others looks up from the couch and everyone shared an internal, quiet moan of soreness and tiredness. 

Alina, Bucky, Steve and Sam all went to get cleaned up and returned looking much less disheveled. Just as they had sat down, Fury walked in followed my Agent Hill. 

“No Coulson today?” Tony asked without looking up from his phone 

“Busy” Hill replied equally as boredly 

 

“What’s up?” Steve asked 

“Training is up” Fury said, popping the ‘p’

The whole team groaned loudly. 

“Not now surely” Sam said, having only just sat down. 

“Yes, now” Fury replied

“Why?” Tony argued 

“Because I said so Stark” Fury growled. 

Slowly the team got up and began to make their way all the way down to the gym. Internally, each of them were plotting ways to murder Fury in his sleep, particularly those who had just returned from a mission less than an hour ago.   
As they reached the gym, they stood in the foyer. None of them had made any plans, usually Steve or Tony would lead in terms of making a training plan or they would be entering the gym with an idea in mind already. 

“Uhhh…” Tony said from his suit, looking to Fury 

“It’s come to our attention that you’ve been slacking in hand to hand combat training” Maria said 

They all rolled their eyes. They had purposefully been avoiding it in favour of messing with magic and new technology that Stark had recently patented. Clearly it was now returning to hinder them. 

“1 hour, that’s all i ask” Fury said, exasperated 

Disgruntledly, the team began training. They wanted it over and done with so that they could all get into bed. Sulkily, they partnered up, sometimes grouping into 3s to critique one another and to ensure the fight didn’t get too heated as they sometimes did in the moment. 

It had been 45 minutes of hand on hand training when Steve paired Loki and Alina up. Both were quick on their feet and well trained with knives so he thought it would be good for the two to get some practice in with another who could match their skill. 

 

“Don't expect me to go easy on you” Loki drawled, he had been particularly rude to her over the past few days, still pissed off over her involvement with Stephen Strange. This in turn had pissed her right off too. 

Their collective annoyance towards one another caused the fight to be readily quite heated. They moved quickly, both armed with a pair of knives; one in each hand. Together they danced, attacking one another. At a certain point, they reached an impasse, both had the other’s knives locked between the other's arms. They were each breathing heavily. Suddenly, Alina moved one hand back and swiftly punched Loki in the face. He moved back towards her, reaching out when in a quick series of movements, she disarmed him and threw him into the wall. She stood over him, his back against the wall and he stared up at her, mouth open as he panted heavily. She kneeled down, hand around his throat. 

 

“I thought you weren’t going easy on me” She hissed, her eyes tightening 

He felt a sudden urge of spite and in a fluid movement, pushed two fingers to the place between her eyebrows. She gasped and was thrown backwards slightly. 

In her head, she felt herself rush back to many years ago when she first started working in New York. She saw her partner as they crept into a building, unbeknown to them was controlled by HYDRA, which was not a common thing at the time. It jumped forward and she watched as he dove in front of her, taking the bullet which would fatally end his life. She screamed out, pressing her hands to his wound as bullets flew around them. Painfully, she dragged him behind a corner and knelt over him. 

“Rossi” she said, trying to keep him awake 

“Please..” he whispered, blood now dripping from his lips. 

“No no no you’re going to be fine” 

She watched herself as she pushed down on the wound and the man’s eyes began to become unfocused and glassy. She watched tears pour down her own face. 

It was the first time she had ever lost someone in combat like that. It was meant to be a simple mission, just a find and retrieve but they had been ambushed. Rossi had saved her life but lost his own. She flashed forward as she watched the agency tell his wife, who was holding his 9 month old baby.

Suddenly, she snapped back to reality. She was on her front, facing away from Loki. She froze, unable to process anything. The memory had been vivid unlike anything she had experienced, unlike any nightmare she had before.   
The team had immediately stopped what they were doing when they had heard Alina cry out. They all stared as she propped herself up slightly, visibly shaking, eyes wide with what appeared to be horror and shock. 

Loki knew as soon as his fingers had touched her forehead that he had gone too far. It had been a spur of the moment action, one to win the fight and to spite the girl who was jeering him. As he saw the look in her eyes, he felt a deep regret. She looked horrified in a way he had never seen before. 

“That’s enough for today I think” she whispered, before pulling herself off the ground and quietly exiting the gym. 

Loki watched her leave, his eyebrows furrowed in concern and his eyes wide with regret. 

“Loki, what did you do?” Natasha asked, warningly 

Thor shook his head in disappointment. He knew his brother’s tricks all to well. 

“He made her relive a memory. Loki used to do it to others who would annoy him as kids” Thor explained 

“Which memory?” Steve asked cautiously 

“Just whichever one was most readily in her mind at the time… I didn’t really have any control because it wasn’t one I was involved in” Loki said desperately 

“Fuck sake” Sam put his arms up angrily 

“I didn’t intend… It was an accident” Loki said in despair 

“You didn’t mean to make her relive a memory?” Stark asked sarcastically 

“I never intended on harming her. It was a split reaction” Loki replied, his eyes worried. 

// 

The next morning they saw nothing of Alina. She stayed in her room, attempting to get control over the vividness her memory had provided her. Admittedly, she was still in shock. She had greatly moved on from that instance and it had been a long time since she had thought of it in detail, let alone relived it directly. 

In the living room, Strange appeared. The team jumped a little in shock and then settled down upon realising who the intruder was. 

“Again, front door” Tony said, repeating Steve’s quip from day’s earlier. 

Strange instead looked around curiously. Doctor Everton was nowhere to be seen. He raised his eyebrows in question. 

“Ask Loki” Clint said, walking past the Doctor into the kitchen. 

The Doctor glared at Loki. 

“WHAT have you done” he snarled 

“Nothing intentional” Loki replied 

“Where is she?” He growled in annoyance 

“Im here Strange” Alina said from the doorway 

He whipped around. Immediately he felt the weariness in her magic and in her demeanour and his eyes softened in confusion. He shot Loki an angry look. What had that idiot done? 

Strange gestured for Alina and himself to leave the room and she immediately gave a small shrug, turned and left the room. Strange followed her towards the opaque room. 

“What did that imbecile do?” he asked

“We had a fight” she shrugged 

“A fight would not affect your magical presence in the way it has” he said pointedly 

“Well it’s true” 

“It’s not the whole truth though is it?” he questioned as they entered the room and he closed the door behind him. 

“He made me relive a past memory. One that I had not engaged with in a very long time. It was vivid enough that it felt like I was existing in that memory” she explained   
“I'm assuming it’s traumatic” he said, his voice a little softer than usual 

“Something of the sort” she said offhandedly, moving past him 

He grabbed her arm. 

“Tell me” he demanded, his eyes boring into hers. 

“Why does everyone want to know my business” she muttered defeatedly 

He stared at her pointedly. Waiting for her to provide an explanation. 

“When I first started working cases, fresh out of my Masters, for the NYPD, I had a partner. His name was Rossi and he was another special agent of sorts. Now at the time, HYDRA wasn’t really a common occurrence. At least not a known one. We had been working together roughly 6 months when we were sent on a mission with a team to do a retrieve on some documents pertaining to a case being monitored by the NYPD. We did not expect to be ambushed, by HYDRA, although we didn’t know it at the time. It got messy real fast. I slipped up, made a mistake and he took a bullet for me. He died right there in that abandoned warehouse. Left behind a wife and a newborn kid. That’s the jist of it anyway” She explained

Strange shook his head. He mentally noted down to send Loki for another fall sometime soon. 

“I can feel it in your magic” he said 

“How does that work?” 

“Distress, particularly emotional, comes across heavily in magical presence since control is a large aspect. I sensed it as soon as you entered the room”

“Fuck” she said, realising it would likely be evident to Thor and Loki then too. 

Strange seemed to catch onto this and shook his head yet again. Loki had sabotaged his entire lesson today by messing around with the girl’s memories. 

“Don’t worry it’s well within your control” 

She looked at him and sighed, shaking her head. 

“Let’s just get on with today shall we?” she asked 

“Well, this has put a dent into my plans. I would rather not push any limits if you’re not in full control of your emotional distress” 

“Fuck it” she shrugged 

“Fine but I warned you” He muttered, slightly annoyed at her brazen attitude 

To his surprise, everything seemed to go okay. He decided to teach her how to use her shields to her advantage in regards to movement. He was hoping that by the time he was done with it she would be able to use them as leverage in a fight, as steps and movement enhancers rather than to just protect herself. It was a shorter session than he had hoped but he was pleased that nothing had gone monumentally wrong. However, part way through the session the Eye of Agamotto had glowed strongly and Alina had seemed to react to it. Strange had quickly pushed this from his mind as the event had quickly come and gone. He reasoned it was to be expected considering the other stones in the girl’s possession already. 

It had been about two hours when they wandered back into the lounge again. Everyone was stretched out, clearly in the midst of a discussion. They looked up as the pair walked in and a few gave nods. Tony was lounged over a couch, his legs over the arm. He wiggled his eyebrows. 

“Hey big guy, you gave up quickly” he said 

Strange sighed at him. 

“Nothing was given up on. I simply understand moderation with magic” he replied pointedly, shooting a glare toward Thor and Loki. 

Loki rolled his eyes huffily. He did not enjoy Strange getting so much one-on-one time with Alina nor did he enjoy not knowing exactly what the man was telling and teaching her. 

“Yeah well you know--” Tony began 

“Doctor Banner may I speak with you briefly?” Strange interjected 

 

Banner looked at Strange with a mixture of his usual surprise and awkwardness. 

“Of course” he said, standing and indicating a move toward the kitchen. 

Strange followed him.

Alina took Banner’s place on a couch and leaned forward, her elbows on her knees. Around her, conversation flowed freely and she found herself drawn in and out of it. They began musing on Alexander Pierce, after a discussion of HYDRA came up. As Steve began to discuss Pierce, Alina felt the room begin to shake and her vision became blurry. She looked around to see if anyone else was alarmed but the discussion was continuing as usual. Before she could say a word, everything pulled towards her and she was no longer in Avengers Tower.   
// 

Suddenly, she was 8, being dropped off by her friend’s mom. She began to walk up the garden path towards the front door which she saw was slightly ajar. She pushed it over and entered the main hallway. To her right, she could hear voices coming from the living room. Quietly, she hung her school bag on it’s hook and walked towards the voices. As she reached the doorway, she saw her parents, hands bound on the living room floor and 6-7 men standing over or around them. They were beating her mother savagely. 

She let out a terrified scream and the men turned to her. 

“Sweetie run!” her dad yelled desperately. 

She turned and ran. Behind her, she heard the men order one another to go after her. As fast as she could, she dived for her secret hiding spot under the stairs, shutting the little door behind her and shuffling behind some boxes. She sat quietly for 5 minutes until the men gave up, assuming she had bolted out the door. After a few more minutes, her parents screams continued. Tears welled in her eyes as she sat hidden in her secret spot, unable to do anything. Part of her mind felt like deja vu and the rest was pure terror. After around 30 minutes, the screaming and thuds stopped. Everything went quiet and she heard doors open and close again. After another 5 minutes, she was brave enough to exit her hiding place, cautiously. 

As she crept into the living room, she was met with a horrific scene. Her parents dead bodies were strewn across the room. Shards of glass were intertwined and shone out amongst the blood which was spattered up the carpet, walls and lounge set. She started crying softly, terrified. In her distress, she dropped to her knees beside her dead father, picking up a piece of glass in her hand absently. 

As she did so, a man entered the room. He was dressed in a suit, unlike the other men before who were all geared for combat. 

‘Alexander Pierce’ a thought rang at the back of her mind. 

The man seemed to sigh and shake his head. 

“You’re lucky” he said, before turning around and leaving out the kitchen door. 

She stood, something willing her to go after him but instead she squeezed the glass in her hand hard. She let out a gasp as it sliced through her palm. As she did so, the room began to shake and everything pulled towards her. 

 

// 

She woke up, gasping for breath, terrified, on the floor of the Avenger’s living room. Loki, Strange and Tony’s faces all swam in her vision as she panted heavily. 

“Alina?!” Tony’s voice said, panicked. 

Dully, she noticed a trickle of blood tracing over her lips. Her nose was bleeding. Quickly, she raised her hand and saw a scar where the the shard of glass had sliced her. She stared at it, horrified and still breathing erratically. 

Loki’s eyes followed hers and he grabbed her hand suddenly, examining it. Bruce too, leaned over. They exchanged a look. 

“That scar was not there before” Loki said, staring at her hand 

“That’s impossible, you probably didn’t notice it or something” Sam replied, also panicked. 

“No. I have done dozens of physical examinations on Alina and she has never, ever have a scar on her hand” Banner answered 

“That’s fucking impossible” Tony said 

Alina seemed to curl onto her side a little, her eyes wide and he expression one of immense distress. 

As Strange leaned over her, the Eye of Agamotto seemed to wink a bright green at her ever so slightly. Nobody else noticed. Gently, Strange rolled her onto her back and checked her pulse and her head. She was visibly shaken. 

“Alina, what the hell just happened?” Steve asked, standing back a little. 

She looked up at him. 

“I just watched my parents die” she said hollowly.


	41. The Butterfly Effect

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Surprise, it's me again

The room was quiet. Concern washed over the atmosphere. Nothing had seemed to trigger Alina. There was no power surge or unusual event and she did not have the stones activated at the time. 

“Dr. Banner do you have full medical facilities here?” Strange asked 

“Yes of course, everything” 

“I want to do a full brain scan on her” he said sharply 

Tony looked confused. 

“Why? I mean I know this is messed up but she’s not brain damaged” he quipped 

Strange stared him down with disdain. 

“Scars dont just appear out of nowhere. It has to be connected to the mind” 

“I cut my hand” Alina said, mostly to herself 

Strange looked at her, eyebrows dented inwards. 

“Tell me what happened. Exactly what happened” he commanded

Alina nodded, her head pounding dully 

“I remember we were talking about Alexander Pierce when the room started to vibrate and shake as if there was an earthquake. No one seemed bothered by it though and as i went to speak the room we are in faded away. I relived my parents deaths from when I was a child, except, it felt like I had some sort of control over my actions. As if I was looking back but also in first person. When Pierce went to leave the house, I got this urge to follow him which didn’t happen in the actual event, and in the process I sliced my hand on shard of glass” 

“That makes no sense. That’s impossible” Banner said incredulously 

“And you’re sure that you never sliced your hand on glass in that event previously?” Strange queried 

“Never” Alina confirmed 

“This is not good. This is very not good” Banner muttered 

“What?” Sam asked, perplexed. So she had cut her hand, it didn’t seem like all too big of a deal to him. Besides, it was probably just the stones messing with her. 

“If what just happened, really happened, Alina was just put in a position to knowingly change the past. Meaning that she could have essentially unhinged the entire fabric of existence as we know it. You all understand the butterfly effect?” Banner explained 

“But what triggered it? The gems?” Steve asked 

“Potentially, it is impossible nearly to know, and if so to know which one. I’ve never heard of that particular ability though” Loki pitched in

 

// 

 

Strange proceeded to examine Alina, to find nothing other than the original scar that had changed. He sat next to her, perplexed, in Banner’s medical bay. Tony was downstairs with the rest of the team, after Strange eventually snapped at him and told him to leave. It turns out Tony was very bad at music trivia. 

Alina was staring at the roof. The more things happened, the more she began to feel out of control. Already she was worried about her physical strength hurting people; she had no idea what extent she could go to in that aspect alone. More and more frequently she had begun to suffer bouts of anger and fear that made her want to run, to do anything she could to get out of the situation she was in.

“You can control this” Strange spoke through the silence. 

Alina felt a pang of annoyance. What did he know about how she was feeling? About the pain of wondering when she was going to seriously hurt someone, the feeling of being unable to control the power she had. She had never asked for any of this. 

“And what if I cant? Then what? I kill someone by accident? Hurt someone? Literally tear apart the fabric of everything on accident?” she replied sharply 

Strange was taken aback slightly by her tone. She often came across calm and unwavering. 

“We will figure this out. I promise. You can still control yourself” 

She glanced at him and then looked away. 

“This could be just a one off, to do with triggering your celestial bloodline. We don’t know yet”

“I’m going to bed” she muttered, hoisting herself off the seat and exiting the room. 

She walked past the rest of the avengers in the lower room without saying a word, brushing past Bucky who stood by the door and sliding into the corridor that lead to the living quarters. 

Strange came down shortly after. 

“I’m worried about her and her abilities - and I am rarely worried about such things” he announced. 

“She’ll be fine, she’s come through worse” Tony said 

“She is strong” Thor pitched in

Strange shook his head. 

“I will be back” He announced, before disappearing in his usual array of golden portal.


	42. Killer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Surprise part 2.

Weeks passed without incident and slowly, Alina’s scarred hand faded to the back of everyone’s minds. She continued to train with strange, gently teasing out abilities that had fallen by the wayside. Training with Loki had also resumed, much to Strange’s scowling disapproval. 

Gradually, they began to spread themselves out; working cases and doing missions. Focussing on other enhanced, HYDRA, and threat based activity. A month on from the incident and they were catching up in the tower’s living room, sharing stories from missions and cases and discussing new leads. Even Dr. Strange had joined them. He had begun to keep more of an eye on the Avenger’s work, mainly due to his protective status over Alina. Fury had demanded otherwise but eventually gave way when Strange boastfully told him he had already stolen and read all of shields files. 

Alina had just returned from a case and had morphed into casual clothes as she moved through the doorway. 

“Sparrrklesss” Tony sung from the lounge suit 

Strange scoffed. He hated that nickname for her and he hated Stark using it. 

She smiled tiredly. It had been a long one. Conversation flowed freely, however, and they quickly divulged into teasing Clint about accidentally shooting a SHIELD agent through the foot with one of his arrows. To be fair, his equipment had been messed with by Tony causing a misfire but they still couldn’t let him live it down. 

At around 11pm, Alina stood and yawned. 

“I’m going to bed” she said, facing the team with her back to the kitchen and the corridor. 

“Training, tomorrow. At MY place this time” Strange emphasised 

Alina crossed her arms and smiled with a small nod. 

Suddenly, the lights flickered and the room was plunged into pitch darkness. 

“Not to worry, we have generators for a reason” Tony laughed. 

“Well, I dont think those will work you know” an unfamiliar voice said

It was a drawling, high pitched voice that came from the direction of the corridor. It sounded slow and bored. The figure clapped, and the hallway light behind him turned on. 

The room froze. 

Alina turned and locked eyes with the man. 

Demetri Aliyev 

It felt like everything was in slow motion as he stood, not 2 metres in front of her, smiling in a deep eggplant coloured suit, his hair slicked back. She felt frozen to the spot in disbelief and fear. 

“What the….” Clint trailed off

Thor began to move towards Alina, who was the closest to the man by a large distance but Demetri held his hand up. Thor stopped but the movement seemed stiff and forced. 

“Ah ah ah. None of that! I have snipers trained on all of you right now so if even one of you decides to pull any funny business I’ll shoot you all!” he said with fake cheeriness 

“How did you get in here?” Tony asked, incredulously. His security system was state of the art. Best in the world to his knowledge. You couldn’t just waltz on into the tower unless you were Strange of course. 

Demetri ignored him, giving him an annoyed roll of the eyes at best before turning his attention back to Alina. He took a step towards her, closing the distance as he walked around her in a circle brushing his expensive suit against her singlet clad shoulder. 

“You’re the first thing, sorry….person I ever wanted that got away from me, you know?” He said, his breath tickling her ear. 

She swallowed, trying to keep her breathing even as she felt fear encompass her body. 

“Oh come on, be polite. Speak” he commanded 

Strange watched the man with absolute distaste but curiosity. He had seen the video footage of Alina’s confinement. This man, whoever he was, was a danger and had now taken a more personal interest in Alina. This seemed…. obsessive. He glanced across to Loki, who stood stiff, his jaw clenched and his breathing heavy. 

Still Alina had not said a word. 

“No worries. I actually have something to show you” Demetri smiled, taking her from behind, a hand on each shoulder and spinning her toward the kitchen. 

He clapped once and then replaced his hands on her shoulders. The lights in the kitchen flicked on. The room blanched. Behind her, Sam vomited. 

The kitchen was soaked in blood spatter. On the blender prongs sat a severed head of a middle aged man, slowly rotating. Limbs were scattered across the floor and blood still dripped from them. It was fresh. 

Slowly, Demetri walked Alina to the kitchen, his hands still on her shoulders. 

“Do you remember him?” he asked 

She didn’t say anything. Her mouth slightly open and her eyes glazed over in shock. 

“This was the man you spoke to today in regards to your latest case. Nice man if you disregard his absolute pig of a house” Demetri continued 

She recognised the man. She had gone to his apartment during the day to question him on a case she was working on. He had offered her tea but she had declined. 

“You… killed him?” she finally spoke

Demetri chuckled and then deadpanned. 

“No, you killed him. Dont you see, you and I, we’re the same.” 

“No, you’re a killer” she responded, staring at the severed head 

“And you’re not?” 

She didn’t say anything. 

“Look at this mess” he said, gesturing to the kitchen.

She didn’t respond again. 

“If you don’t listen to me then what is the point of having ears” he said again, in response to her silence. 

He shook his head slightly. 

“When are you going to realise you kill people?” 

“But I didn’t kill him. You did. You went into his home and murdered him in cold blood” She growled, her temperature rising. She could feel her blood boiling. 

“But you don’t feel guilty. Do you even feel bad? You’d know the feeling if you had a conscience. Don’t pretend you do.” Demetri replied offhandedly in a silky voice

She spun around and faced him. With one hand she grabbed him by the throat in pure rage. He waved his hand to the window subtly. 

“What…. Alina are you going to kill me now too?” he feigned innocence, with a small smile. 

She held her position. Weighing up what to do next. She couldn’t kill him if he did have snipers trained on the building. They’d kill them all in an instance. He smiled back. She let go of his neck.

“You’re sick” Natasha hissed 

“QUIET” Demetri commanded. 

An eerie feeling suddenly fell onto the room. Suddenly, no one felt the urge to speak, or even move. It was as if they had been injected by a large dosage of antidepressants. The situation no longer felt so bad. 

Alina felt this too. 

“If you’re not a killer, do you have a superhero name? C’mon you have to by now” Demetri cut the silence

“No… Just Alina” 

“Hm, well you know what Alina? There’s a lovely shawarma restaurant around the corner from here. C’mon, you love Shawarma” 

The corners of her lips tweaked a little. 

“Yeah” she replied, taking his outstretched hand. She felt calm as he pulled her towards the door. 

In the back of her mind though, she could feel something wasn’t right. She locked eyes with the severed head and stopped in her tracks. What had happened? How had she let her guard down so easily? Why was she hand in hand with the man who had tortured her and killed presumably many people? 

Demetri looked back at her. 

“Come on now” he coaxed 

She glanced at Loki, who although knew what was going on - as did the rest of the Avengers and Strange - couldn’t seem to move or speak to fight it. 

“No. What the fuck… No” she replied 

He looked surprised at her resistant. 

“You see I thought you’d be like this. I’ve never met anyone who could resist me. Not to worry we have all the time in the world” he smiled, dropping her hand and waltzing through the hallway door, closing it behind him. 

Suddenly the eerily calm feeling left the room and everyone’s heads felt less clouded. Alina felt dizzy, she stood in a pool of blood in the kitchen staring at the corridor door. 

Steve went straight for the door, only to find no trace of the man. He was called the Shadow for a reason.

Bucky went straight to Alina. She stood staring at the severed head which was still slowly rotating on the blender blades. Slowly, he edged toward it and switched it off. 

“I think I’m going to have to replace the kitchen appliances” Tony said attempting to lighten the atmosphere, but his voice only shook. 

“How in the hell did he get in?” Rhodey demanded. 

“JARVIS. Footage now”

“You asked my mainframe security to be shut down an hour ago sir” JARVIS replied 

“What.. in the hell” Tony muttered 

“Kid.. are you okay?” Clint asked. He often saw his daughter in Alina and couldn’t help but see her as his own. 

She didn’t look at him, just stared at the head. She had been in the military, worked for SHIELD, the Police and MI6. She had seen plenty of dead bodies in her time but this was different. She had even killed people when it came to survival but she had never done anything in cold blood, never put anyone in harm's way. The man whose head sat on the blender was just someone she had encountered in passing, someone who is dead now simply because of interacting with her. 

Behind her, Loki waved his hand and had the limbs and blood, as well as the blender disappear. Steve nodded at him appreciatively. 

As Tony and Bruce went about checking their security failure, the rest stood in silence. A realisation washed over them. This man, whoever he was, was more than he claimed to be. More powerful, more controlling, and far more equipped. And this time, he had a personal obsession.


	43. Quandary

Strange refused to leave that night. 

Alina didn’t sleep. 

Those who did manage to rest woke in the morning to find Fury and Coulson in their living room, deep in discussion with Stark, Steve and Banner.

“And you’re telling me you have NO footage?” Fury demanded 

“None. JARVIS says the security mainframe was shut down but the only people who can do that are Steve and myself and we were in each other’s company all night” Stark responded 

“And you all did NOTHING to stop him in the entire time he was here?” Fury asked

“We couldn’t he had snipers trained on the building. And, well actually.. There’s something else….” Steve trailed off

Fury gestured for an explanation and Natasha offered one. 

“It was weird. He yelled for quiet and suddenly I couldn’t do anything. None of us could. It was like we were paralyzed on the spot” 

“What? Strange? Thor? Loki?” Fury asked skeptically, nodding to the gods and sorcerer. 

They all shook their heads. 

“I am a brain surgeon and a sorcerer and even I couldn’t fight or make sense of the feeling” Strange offered 

“Show off” Tony muttered, earning a glare from Fury and an eye roll from Strange. 

“And Agent Everton?” Fury continued 

“It was weird. He had control over her for a little while. He was trying to get her to leave, to get... food…” Clint trailed off 

“And?” 

“And then she snapped out of it. It seemed like he knew she might be able to fight it because he left immediately after” Steve said 

“You think he’s an enhanced?” Coulson spoke 

“Has to be. He’s human by basic anatomy, I had JARVIS check that last time we encountered him” Stark replied quickly 

“Why did he never use these powers before then? When he had Alina captured, why torture if he had some sort of mind control?” 

“Maybe it’s new to him?” Bucky added 

“And he said he would come back?” Fury asked, breaking up the theorizing. 

“He said ‘Not to worry, we have all the time in the world’” Steve quoted, thoughtfully 

“He seemed to have this weird obsession with her” Banner added 

“Uh… Speaking of which, where is Dr. Everton…?” Coulson asked slowly 

They all met each other’s eyes. 

“Oh shit” Clint said 

“JARVIS give me a run down on the building I want eyes on Alina now” Tony demanded, his heart rate increasing. How could they have been so stupid? The man had gotten into the building when Alina was with them, they had no idea what he’d do if he could get in and she was alone. 

“Of Course sir” 

Strange ran through options in his head. The man was freakishly, yet so casually powerful. If he already had hold of Alina he had to have a plan of action and quickly. 

“Miss Everton is currently in our Training facilities, Mr Stark” JARVIS responded. 

They all took a sigh of relief, before making their way to the elevator. 

//

Alina couldn’t sleep that night. She played the events of the evening over and over again. That man had died just simply for crossing paths with her by chance. She had nearly lost control and killed Demetri by snapping his neck, a thought that terrified her. She had never felt that anger and that power. She had succumbed to whatever mind tricks he was playing with her, however briefly, it bothered her. She could not remember at which point she had decided that the situation had been fine, it was not until she had caught the severed head in the corner of her eyes that she had realised she was hand in hand with the man. 

Oh god, the severed head. 

It all seemed too macabre. The man was too calm and calculating and somehow gentle about the whole situation. It made it even more confusing. He didn’t behave like a villain, or a monster and the more she thought about it, the sicker she felt.  
What bothered her even more was the lack of control she felt over herself. In a split moment she had felt that surge of power, she had wanted to snap his neck or throw him into the wall.

Hoping to gain some clarity, she decided to train. 

// 

The team ventured down to the training facilities to find Alina, drilling herself again and again. She clearly hadn’t slept and her attacks were beginning to get angry and ferocious. She took down drone after drone with her magic; creating fire, ice, daggers, shields and blasts.

She then resorted to using just her physical strength to combat them. She continued to attack them, taking them down. The last one of the set came and with a sense of finality, she ripped it’s head off with one hand, dropping it to the ground. 

She had been training for 5 hours. As she finished the drone, she realised it had not made her feel any better. Inwardly, she coached herself, her impact and psychology training kicking in as she presented a calm, blank face to the team. She had noticed them come in 15 minutes previous. 

Loki watched as she finished the last dummy drone, her shoulders seemed to drop from exhaustion. As she turned to address them, he saw a tiny flicker, a change of emotion cross her face. Her features were calm but the tired look in her eyes made his chest feel tight. Something wasn't right and he knew it. Inwardly he kicked himself, thinking back to their fateful argument. Perhaps if he had never said what he had said, she would trust him enough to confide in him, at least a little bit like she used to. Even after they had begun training together again she remained slightly distant, sticking strictly to the role of student.

He had noticed she seemed slightly more lighthearted in her sessions with Strange. More mischievous and cunning. He resented it. 

“Fury” she nodded, breaking Loki’s thought train. 

“Everton. I’ve been briefed on last night”

She nodded, and gestured for him to continue. 

“We do not know who this man is, what he does or is capable of or were he is based out of. It seems however he can make it past Stark’s and SHIELD’s security without trouble”

“And SHIELD’s?” Alina remarked, questioningly 

“Your files were hacked into and accessed last night” 

The team glanced at each other. Fury had not mentioned that. 

“Fuck sake. Somehow that doesnt surprise me” she replied dryly. 

“Looks like you’re on your own here Doctor” Fury remarked 

“What” Coulson, Steve, Tony, Clint, Thor and Nat said in sharp unison 

Fury shrugged. 

“I don’t know what you expect me to do about it. If this man can bypass both of our security systems and access any of you, powered individuals, at will. Then, I dont see how much help I am to you” 

“You’re kidding...:” Tony said 

“Well we have to put a plan in place! C’mon we’ve got to do something to protect her” Steve protested 

Fury shrugged again 

“And what are you motherfuckers going to put in place? He’s already bypassed your security and compromised every single one of you” 

The room fell quiet as they realise the position they were in. 

“He’s right” Alina said softly 

She received a few looks of dismay. 

“No, seriously. I’m the only one who could break his mind control. If he’s already bypassed our security, he can do it again and at leisure. Remember, he left of his own free will. He could of easily taken me by force if he had chosen to. Besides, he may come back 3 years from now for all we know” 

Thor and Loki glanced at one another uncomfortably. Their minds strayed to the prophecy. They didn’t know if they had 3 years or not. 

“So what, we just leave it?” Coulson prompted 

“Not much else we can do. No point wasting resources on a security intel if he can use some form of mind control.” Alina replied

“I don’t like this” Clint chimed in protectively 

“What else is there? Changing our routine, not doing our work, being afraid, that might be what he is seeking here.” 

“So what do we do?” Thor asked

“Nothing” Alina replied, sending a blast of magic to a drone which was levelling itself off the ground. 

“Well in that case, I am needed at the sanctum” Strange said, conjuring a portal. There was nothing he could do except keep an eye on Alina’s movements in the city via his magic. He had other things to attend to. 

“I really dont like this” Clint reaffirmed. 

“Back to work” Fury suggested, leaving the room. 

Coulson gave them a nod and shot Alina a sympathetic smile before ducking out of the room after Fury. 

As the team disapparated to go about their business, Loki weaved towards Alina. Thor noticed this and quickly left the room. 

She was unweaving the tap from her knuckles and she looked up as he approached. The concern in his face made her soften a little bit and she gave a small smile. 

“Ali” he said 

She looked at him. It had been a while since he had used her nickname. Actually, it had been awhile since they had really had more than a basic conversation about the stones or her abilities.

“What’s up Loki?” She smiled, peeling a piece of tape off her finger. 

Loki realised that he didn’t know what to say. 

‘It’s uh, you need to be careful” 

She sighed and shook her head slightly. 

“Don’t know what could happen that could be much worse than all the things that have already happened” 

“You could die”

“Yeah that I guess” she laughed lightly 

“You need to take this seriously” he said, frustrated 

“Like I said there isnt much to be done currently” 

Loki shook his head.

‘Training?” he asked, avoiding an argument. 

“Yeah I’ll do a bit” she replied, grateful to avoid yet another discussion about her safety. 

Loki spent his time focussing on the power stone, something he had become immensely focussed on after failing her the first time. This meant testing most of her abilities, to see which had been enhanced the most by the stone. They had already discovered that being able to wield and fight with fire was something the power stone had enhanced. Loki had also quickly realised it had allowed her to duplicate other superhuman abilities. He had noticed a few weeks ago when SHIELD had brought in a wild enhanced who had the ability of speed, that upon making contact with him, Alina had duplicated his power. 

The training Alina had been doing earlier already proved to him that her stamina had increased dramatically.

However, using the power stone in conjunction to the other stones was still relatively fresh for Alina and after an hour she grew tired and weak. Loki felt at ease. She had seemed more laid back and trusting with him for the first time in months. 

“Thanks” she said, as he pulled her up off the ground by her hand. 

“My pleasure” 

“No worries, horny” she teased 

He had morphed into his combat gear while they had been testing her more destructive abilities. He quickly returned to a more casual look, laughing and she grinned at him in return. 

// 

Later that evening, the rest of the team noticed that Alina and Loki seemed to be on much more natural terms again. After the events of the night before it was a settling thought of normality. 

“I’m still not going in that kitchen though” Sam joked.


	44. Strange Occurrences

A fortnight passed and minorly strange occurrences had begun to crop up around New York. Things so small, yet odd that only Alina, who was situated working down in the labs, would hear about them. A couple allegedly setting the table and serving dinner yet not eating, then killing each other, a man who walked out in front of car and left no note and no reason and leaving behind a pregnant wife, a young boy who murdered his own parents in their sleep and claims to have no recollection of ever deciding to. These were just some of the whispers Alina had decided to look into over the past fortnight. 

She ended up personally dealing with the bodies of the parents whose son murdered them. She had read the files and it had been perplexing, psychiatrists who interviewed the boy had noted that he was convinced he had never made the decision to do such a thing and could not remember the event until after it happened. Alina made contact with her connections in the NYPD and asked to be updated on any similar weird cases that popped up in the near future. 

The very next day, one came in. Detective Carr, an old friend from her time with the NYPD, called her immediately. A young man had stabbed himself to death in his home with a rather blunt steak knife. 

Alina arrived on the scene to find most officers outside, rather than in. The majority of them recognised her immediately and she raised her eyebrows at them, questioningly. Carr approached her from the doorway of the apartment. 

“It’s a gruesome one” he answered her look 

Alina shrugged, arms folded as she followed the detective into the building. As soon as she entered the room she realised why most of the officers were outside. 

The room was covered in blood. It was pooled on the floor, smeared across the kitchen and walls and was dripping off the dining room table, were the body lay with it’s torso half on face down. Near the table laid a rather small, blunt looking steak knife. A forensics officer was taking pictures. 

“Jesus” she said with distaste 

“Yeah she’s not a pretty one”

“And that’s what he used?” she asked incredulously, indicating to the knife on the floor. 

“Looks like it” 

“And you’re absolutely certain the wounds are self-inflicted?” she responded, confused. 

The knife wasn’t blunt but it wasn’t exactly sharp either. It would take some will and force to stab yourself with it once, let alone over and over. 

“Well I can’t confirm for certain until forensics are back obviously but i’ve had 3 forensics officers look at it and the direction of the knife force and the way in which the wounds are inflicted suggest they were done by him” 

She crouched by the body, examining it. Carr was right, they did look self inflicted. 

“No note or suggestion that he was suicidal or manic or schizophrenic?” 

“Nope, already run his medical records and talked to his parents and older sister. No history of mental illness, didn’t appear unhappy, last time he checked into any sort of medical facility was downtown hospital for a broken ankle through work” Carr replied 

“No one came in or out of the apartment during the ETD?” she asked 

“There’s security camera’s in the foyer and all the halls. No one approached his apartment or entered it at all last night” 

“The windows?” Alina asked, indicating to the large floor to floor windows surrounding the dining room. 

“Already checked the footage from the opposite building. No one enters through the windows either”

“Goddamnit. You’ve got to have some willpower to stab yourself this many times, let alone with a blunt steak knife” 

“You’re telling me” 

“Hm… I’d like to talk to the sister. Did she give you an address?” 

“Yeah I’ll text it to you. I’ll send an officer with you too” 

“Cool, keep me updated.” she replied as she left the apartment. 

At the foyer she was met by an middle aged officer with dark, greying hair and equally dark eyes. 

“Officer Madden” he introduced himself 

“Dr. Everton” she replied formally 

“Im just here to make things go smoothly and officially” 

“Noted. I forget people generally do not take kindly to strangers out of uniform turning up on their doorstep to ask about their dead brother” she smiled 

He returned the smile and they began to walk. The sister’s home was only 3 blocks from where they were and they imagined they wouldn’t be too long. On the way they spoke casually about cases and Alina pointed out a few back alleys for shortcuts in case he ever needed them in a chase.

When they arrived, Alina knocked on the door. It was a home inside what seemed to be an old industrial building. It had been done up to be edgy and sleek with 3 stories. No one answered. 

This time, Officer MAdden knocked, a little louder. Still no answer. 

Alina tried the door handle, it was unlocked. She gave Madden a look and furrowed her eyebrows. 

“Ma’am you door was unlocked! I am letting you know this is the NYPD and we are entering your building out of concern for your safety” Madden announced 

Still nothing. He shrugged at Alina and they entered the apartment. 

The bottom floor seemed to be dedicated to a guest bedroom and bathroom which appeared relatively empty. 

The second floor contained a master bedroom with a large ensuite and wardrobe space, as well as a number of closets. 

As they approached the third floor they noticed it was large and spacious with a high ceiling and renovated brick walls home to the living and dining area. Alina deadpanned when she saw the figure on the couch. 

Demetri. 

“Took your time” he smiled 

Madden looked confused but polite. 

“Sorry sir we’re actually looking for-”

“The sister, yes I know” 

“Where is she?” Alina asked, concerned for the woman’s safety 

“Oh i sent her for a long walk don’t worry” Demetri responded offhandishly

“Sir, would you please identify yourself” Officer Madden asked politely but firmly 

“Quiet you. You think you are worthy of such a thing” Demetri responded in disgust 

Madden immediately fell silent. 

“You made that man stab himself to death” she said, realisation dawning 

“Such harsh words”

“Why?” she asked 

“He bought the wrong red wine. Believe me when I say it is very important to have the right red with your meat” 

“And the kid and his parents? That was you too?” 

“They annoyed me” 

“What about the couple who beat one another to death on the upper east side?” 

“Couldn’t cook lamb to save their own lives, literally” 

“You’re sick” 

“Me no not at all. Officer, fetch me a drink would you” 

Madden nodded earnestly and retrieved a bottle of water from the fridge, handing it to Demetri. 

“Wonderful. Right, I have had enough of you now. Leave” 

Alina watched stiffly as Madden headed towards the door. Demetri stopped him. 

“Not that way, that way” he said, pointing towards the double doors that lead onto the balcony. 

Madden obeyed and walked over to the doors, opening them swiftly. Alina watched in horror as he stepped up to the ledge. 

“No!” she yelled 

Madden put one foot forward. In a minor movement, Alina froze both his feet to the ground. He struggled wildly, attempting to complete Demetri’s demands but could not release himself from the ice that travelled from the ground to his knees. 

“Oooh clever girl” Demetri said in delight and wonder 

He strode over to Madden and inspected the ice encompassing him. 

“Well done that really is quite something” 

“Stop it. Whatever weird mind control spec thing you’ve got on him just stop it”

“Okay… On one condition though. You and I are going for a walk”

 

“Fine but let him go” she demanded, nodding at Madden 

Demetri shrugged. 

“In 70 seconds you will realise that you have already spoke to the sister and that Alina Everton had to leave on urgent business. You will return to your boss at the crime scene with this news”

Madden nodded. 

“Splendid” Demetri responded, gesturing to Alina to follow him out of the room. 

She hesitated, gave Madden a pained look and the unfroze him. Inwardly she sighed, and then turned and followed the Shadow from the apartment. 

They walked down the street, side by side until they reached a park. It was quiet, barely any people occupying it. 

“Why kill those people?” she asked as they walked at a leisurely pace. To any passerby they would just seem like two ordinary people, a couple even. She shuddered at the thought. 

“Oh I knew you’d notice eventually. I just couldn’t afford to do something too extravagant, didn’t want the entire faction of SHIELD on my ass”

“They will be eventually” 

“Not right now though. Besides, dont pretend like you don’t enjoy it”

“I don’t” she replied, watching a kid play with his mom on a swing set

“Oh for gods sake don’t be so pedantic”

“You’re a murderer” 

“How many people have you killed?” his eyebrows raised 

“None in cold blood, none intentionally” 

“I beg to differ”

“Beg all you like Mr. Aliyev” 

“Call me Demetri” 

“No”

“You’ll come around”

“Why are you doing this?”

“Because, you’re mine”

Alina looked at him and he returned the stare. A begger interrupted them, he was holding a takeaway cup of tea as he approached. 

“Excuse me miss, sir, do you have any change i just need to-”

“Enough, what are you drinking”

“Tea sir”

“I see, throw it in your face”

He did as he was told and immediately began screaming. Alina leapt to her feet to help the man. By the time she had consoled him and made sure he was alright, with the help of strangers, Demetri was gone.

She stood in the park, alone as chaos ensued behind her. He was nowhere to be seen and there was no telling what his next move would be. She let out a breath, and the air fogged up. Slowly, she made her way back to the tower, checking every alleyway and side street for any trouble. 

 

When she arrived back, at roughly 7pm, it was already pitch black and the team were in the living room. Strange was still dealing to his own business, she assumed. The team looked up as she walked in. 

Loki couldn’t help but notice how beautiful she looked with her cheeks pink from the cold outside. 

“You’re back late” Clint remarked 

“Sorry dad” she replied 

“Seriously though, big case” Steve asked kindly 

She smiled at him and regarded all their expectant faces. In that split second, she decided not to tell them about the day or Demetri. 

“Yeah, just the possibility of enhanced beings. You know how it is” she laughed lightly, unravelling her scarf from her neck. 

They accepted her answer without question. And why would they question. It was her job after all, to an extent. Conversation restarted and Loki glanced at her from across the room. Something had felt slightly off to him about the way she offhandedly gave an answer about her day. He was the God of Lies after all. He pushed this thought to the back of his mind, he could be wrong and again, what did she have to lie about? He immediately forgot about even this as she sat down next to him and leant on his shoulder out of exhaustion, listening to the conversation flow around her. 

Everyone eventually slipped off to bed and Loki sat, perfectly still not wanting to disturb her. He glanced down and realised she was very much asleep. He smiled as he took in her features, which were soft and gentle in her sleep. 

Gently, he wrapped an arm under her legs an another behind her back and carried her bridal style to her bedroom. He pushed open the door and laid her down, tucking her under the covers. He sat for a little while, stroking her hair, lost in thought. To his surprise, she murmured something in her sleep, rolled slightly and grabbed his hand, pulling him toward her slightly. 

He waited a moment. 

“Ali?” he half whispered 

No response. She was clearly asleep. 

He stayed in that position, his hand in hers and resumed his thought train. 10 minutes later she did the same thing again, this time pulling him down onto the bed. He sighed quietly and morphed into more comfortable attire. Gently, he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her into him. She snuggled into him, her back against his chest. 

“Night Loki” she murmured 

He looked at her, one eyebrow raised. Perhaps she was more awake than he thought. 

“Night Ali” he replied, planting a kiss in her hair.   
They quickly drifted off to sleep.


	45. Guardian

They woke in the early hours of the morning to a loud crash. Alina rolled over to Loki. 

“What the fuck?” she whispered. 

Another crash. 

They immediately jumped out of bed, simultaneously morphing into combat gear. They crept out of the room, and up a few levels to the source of the noise. On their way they encountered the other Avengers, who were also stealthily making their way toward the noise, weapons drawn. 

The noise seemed to be coming from the kitchen. They all shared a silent glance of concern. Could it be Demetri again? 

Slowly, Bucky pushed the door open and Steve reached over him and hit the lightswitch.

They were in no way expecting what they saw. 

“Is that a Racoon?” Alina said in amusement as they began to fill out into the kitchen. 

On the bench sat a rather large racoon, holding a packet of pop tarts in one hand whilst eating with the other. It looked at them as she spoke. 

“I’d be careful who you’re talking to Missy” it responded 

The team exchanged glances of bewilderment. 

“Did that racoon just… talk?” Sam said, in disbelief

“Im NOT a racoon and no shit I can talk” 

“Not from where i’m from” Steve responded 

Alina took a few steps towards the racoon. Loki grabbed her forearm to stop her but she waved her hand at him gently. She approached the racoon and crouched slightly, examining it. 

“Uh… Pretty sure you’re a Racoon sorry buddy”

“Dont speak to me like that woman” he snapped back, his mouth full of pop tart. 

Alina raised her eyebrow. She couldn’t help but find it absolutely hilarious. 

“Hey Rocket! I don’t think we’re in the right place but look what I fou…-” 

A man came round the opposite corner. Stopping his speech and his movements in his track when he saw the team. He was wearing black boots and pants, a rusty red leather jacket with a grey t shirt underneath and sported a moustache and stubble around his jaw. He stared back at them, his mouth slightly open and one eyebrow subtly raised in shock and wonder. 

The Avengers raised their weapons. The racoon produced a large foreign looking gun in response. 

“Woah woah woah! Rocket put that thing away!” the man demanded 

“Are you crazy Quill?” it responded 

“No dude, you’re just going to start a fight. Quit it!” he said back

The racoon huffed and lowered his weapon. 

“Who the hell are you?” Thor asked 

“I’m Starlord” 

“You’re who what now” Stark asked 

“Ya know, Starlord…?” the man responded 

“Uh.. no not really…” Rhodey added 

The Racoon snickered 

Alina glanced down at it. She stood less than a metre from the racoon and now only 3 from the man. She looked at him. He was holding one of Tony’s baseballs that he had programmed to change colour and light up. 

“Uh sorry…” he offered, passing the ball to Alina. She caught it nimbly in one hand and set it down on the counter. 

“It seems your security system is nowhere near as good as you claim Stark” she said, not taking her eyes off the strange man. 

From behind the man appeared another sight. 

“Is that a fucking tree? A fucking walking tree what the fuck” Clint said 

He wasn’t wrong. 

“I am groot” 

“Hello Groot” Alina offered, slightly amused 

“I am Groot” it responded in a different tone. 

“He likes your eyes” Starlord translated 

“Is that all it says?” Steve asked 

Starlord nodded, giving a little shrug. 

“Man Gamora is gonna be so mad we didn’t take her” Rocket said 

“Nah man if anything she’s probably glad” 

“Yeah sorry to interrupt but what are you doing in my house?” Stark asked 

“Ohhh? This is your house? It’s kinda ugly man” 

Alina masked a laugh as a cough, earning a smile from Starlord. 

Stark began to mutter something about design. 

“So, what? You breaking in?” Steve asked 

“Oh uh, no, well sort of, we’re actually looking for something and SOMEONE said this was where our tracers told us to go” he glared pointedly at Rocket 

“Hey I just read what I saw” 

“And what are you looking for? Natasha asked skeptically 

“Can’t tell you sorry” 

“You’re breaking into OUR house but you can’t tell us what you’re looking for?” Rhodey demanded 

“I thought it was his house” Starlord asked, feigning innocence while pointing at Tony 

“Enough. You’ll tell us what you seek or we will kill you” Thor replied bluntly 

“Oh yeah? Well I’ll kill her first” Rocket said, pointing his gun at Alina.   
She put both hands in the air on either side of her shoulders and shrugged a little skeptically. 

“Rocket!” Starlord said, striding forward and moving to pull Alina to the side. 

As he placed his hand on her shoulder they both froze. Alina looked down at his hands and then slowly raised her eyes to his. They stared at one another in shock. When they had touched each other it had created a surge of pure power and adrenaline. 

Sharply they both stepped back from each other. 

“What are you?” they asked in unison. 

“Uuuuummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm” Rocket said, as confused as everyone else in the room.

Alina and Starlord continued to stare each other down. 

“What.are.you?” Alina asked in terse manner

“I’m human” 

“So am I” 

“Well that’s clearly not true” 

“Could say the same to you” 

“Yeah well”

“You’re not full human” Alina said 

Starlord paused, his head cocked slightly. Who the hell was this woman? He considered his answer for a moment. 

“No… I’m part… something else” 

“What else?” Alina asked bluntly 

He didn’t say anything. 

“What else?” she asked again, a little more forcefully 

He lowered his eyes to hers. 

“Celestial” he responded 

Alina’s eyes widened and her mouth parted a little in shock. 

“You’re not... “ he said 

She nodded slowly. 

“Oh no no no no no. We are not doing a repeat of your dad” Rocket said 

“You’re a Celestial?” Loki asked, bewildered 

Starlord looked over Alina and nodded. 

“That’s impossible” Thor said 

“Wait someone catch me up” Tony interjected 

“Alina’s bloodline which Strange triggered. He’s one too” Thor put simply 

“Peter Quill” Starlord said 

“Alina Everton” she responded 

He put a hand on her shoulder again and they both felt the rush and laughed nervously. 

“How?” Banner asked 

“My father was Ego” 

“Your father was ego?!” Thor said tripping over his worlds 

“Uh again what the hell is that” Sam asked 

“Ego was an extremely powerful celestial with a God complex. He would invade planets and make them extensions of himself, destroying everything that was once there” Loki answered 

“How the hell do you two know all this?” Peter shot 

“Asgardians” Alina said offhandedly 

Peter raised his eyebrows. 

“Well thanks for the help guys” Peter muttered. 

“So what, they’re like brother and sister?” Clint asked 

“They’re brother and sister in the same way that all humans are brother and sister” Thor replied 

“Okay so they’re of the same species but not related” 

“Ego is not her father” Thor nodded 

“Are you gonna tell us what you’re looking for in MY tower now?” Tony asked, 5am was too early for this. 

“Uh, ya see well, we lost something a while back” 

“And what was that?” Steve asked 

Peter glanced to the two asgardians. He knew Asgard had at least one of the infinity stones, they would be aware of what he was talking about immediately. 

“It’s.. uh.. A rock” 

“Oh for god sake. We’re looking for an infinity stone” Rocket interrupted 

Peter whacked him round the head. The Avengers all glanced at one another. 

“And you lost it?” Thor clarified 

“Yeah” Peter replied bashfully 

“Which one?” Loki asked 

“The power stone” 

 

Alina put her head in one hand and shook it in disbelief. 

“Purple, glowy, extraordinary strength?” Thor quizzed 

“Uh yeah, that one” 

Thor pointed at Alina, barely breaking his crossed arms. Eyebrows raised. 

Peter looked at Alina in confusion. Rocket looked impatient. Alina stared back at them. 

“Oh for god sake” she said

In a split second her eyes glowed a bright purple and she raised her hand, pooling a little ball of purple fire into it. 

“Is this what you’re after?” 

Rocket immediately became interested, leaning forward on the bench. Peter stared at her in wonder, taking a few steps closer to peer at the little ball of fire. He looked into her eyes, and then reached out to poke her, stopping just before he touched her skin. She shrugged and indicated it was safe to do so. As soon as their skin connected he felt a surge of pure uncontrollable power, just as he had last time he had handled the stone. He quickly retracted his hand. 

“How?” Quill asked 

“Something to do with my celestial bloodline allows me to do so” 

“Uh yeah well how come I couldn’t? I’ve touched that stone in it’s physical form before. Like, I didn’t die obviously but I also didn’t absorb it and start shooting fire and getting super strength” he replied 

Alina shifted her weight at this and furrowed her eyebrows curiously. The team shifted uncomfortably behind her. 

“Maybe her bloodline is stronger than yours?” Rocket offered 

“Nah I am a direct half-half decedent. She would have to be full celestial for that to even make sense” 

“Maybe she is” Rocket said 

Peter looked at her questioningly. She shook her head. 

“Both human parents” 

“Are you sure…?” Banner asked quietly 

Alina looked at him. 

“Im pretty sure both my parents were human” she replied 

“No, I mean are you certain they’re your biological parents” Banner suggested gently 

“You’ve done phsycial examinations, taken my bloods, it would’ve come up if I was not human” 

“Well, actually…” Peter trailed off

“What?” said Tony, Alina, Banner and Thor   
“Something my father told me, ya know when he was hell bent on evolving the universe, was that a celestial has the ability to mask itself as another species, for protection. Apparently it used to be common” 

“I was born on earth”

“Prove it” Rocket said 

“Okay you know what, fine. But we’re going to have to go on an outing” 

“Cool” Peter said 

“No, not cool. How do we know we can trust you? You broke in with a Racoon and a walking tree” Rhodey snapped 

“STOP CALLING ME THAT” Rocket yelled 

“Look, why don’t half of us stay here and half of us come with me? That way everyone is accounted for” Alina suggested 

“Dibs on coming” Peter said 

Rocket rolled his eyes. 

“Alright Alright, uh.. Peter? You, Loki, Bucky, Clint, Steve come with me. The rest stay here. A walking talking racoon and a tree is going to attract too much attention. And this way we have one Asgardian per group.” 

“Well it’s a little early to go visiting people” 

“It’s nearly 6 right now, it’s easily a few hours away”

“I can get us there in 2” Peter said 

“Oh yeah and how are you going to do that?” Tony asked 

“Parked on your roof” Peter sassed 

They all glanced at each other and followed Quill to the roof. They were encountered by a ship. 

“That’s real subtle” Nat said 

“Hey hey it’s got a cloaking device so people don’t freak out” 

“I really think you need to upgrade your security Tony” Steve said, staring at the impressive ship that was perched on their roof. 

“Guess we know what we’ll be doing while you’re out” Banner chuckled, as the other’s tentatively boarded the ship. 

Peter turned to Rocket and Groot. 

“Be good” he warned 

“I am groot” 

“Yeah yeah i need you to get off this goddamn planet, so i won't destroy anything” Rocket replied grumpily, arms crossed. 

Peter nodded. 

“If he starts playing up just give him something shiny” 

Rocket huffed. 

“You know, I actually kind of feel sorry for these losers so MAYBE I might help them with their stupid security system” Rocket suggested 

“Alright, thank you Rocket” Steve said kindly 

“Let’s go” Clint said. 

The interior of the ship was unusual and filled with strange things. Peter jumped into the pilot seat and gestured for Alina to take the copilots chair. She raised her eyebrows at him. 

“Sometimes I need someone to push some buttons” he smiled. 

She shrugged and sat down, examining the panel in front of her. 

As they took off, the others took seats, looking at the odd interior and watching Peter Quill as he raised the ship off their roof. 

“Where to, Miss?” Peter asked Alina with a cheeky grandeur 

She laughed lightly at his mannerism and gave him the coordinates.


	46. Lies

The ride there, a few hours upstate, involved mostly Peter making borderline cheeky conversation with Alina, and Loki huffing to himself in the background. 

“You might wanna make sure your cloaking device is on Peter” Alina murmured as they neared the location. 

“Hudson? Clint asked, realising their location 

Alina nodded as Peter directed the ship towards a single house situated in a large plot surrounded by crops and fields. He landed it smoothly and looked at her as she stood. 

“Well c’mon then” she said, gesturing for them to follow her. 

She lightly jumped from the platform and landed in the grass. Not breaking her pace, she moved towards the house. 

“Uh Ali, where are we?” Bucky asked, looking around and checking the crops. 

“You’ll see. Don’t worry this is anything but dangerous” she laughed

Clint appreciated his surroundings. It felt like home to him. He smiled as he breathed in the fresh morning air. Alina glanced at him, she thought he might enjoy this place. 

She approached the fronch porch and Loki noticed she hopped up the steps with a lightness that suggested she was all too familiar with them. Gently she knocked on the light blue door. A few moments passed and it opened. 

A women who appeared to be in her early to mid sixties opened it. She had greying blonde hair and bright blue eyes. Her demeanour suggested she was confident and calm but her eyes were kind. She wore a fitted blue jeans and a loose grey shirt with sleeves the reached her elbows. Her eyes widened when she saw Alina. 

“Oh my gosh Ali Cat!” she cried, pulling Alina in for a hug. 

Steve smiled fondly. Clint let out a little giggle. Alina hugged her back, burying her face into her shoulder. 

“Lori, how are you?” Alina asked, pulling back but still holding onto the woman’s shoulders. 

“Well I can say I am much better upon seeing you dear” 

Alina smiled. 

“And who are your friends?” Lori asked curiously, eyeing up Clint, Peter, Bucky, Steve and Loki

Alina introduced them all. Steve and Bucky threw in their usual 1940’s charm, Clint kissed her cheek, Peter gave her a hug and Loki bowed a little. Lori smiled at Loki. 

“We’re one letter away from each other” she chuckled, Loki returned the smile. This woman and Alina had many of the same mannerisms. Both appeared as if they would be calm in the face of any adversity. 

“I’m Lorianne but you can just call me Lori, I was a good friends of Alina’s parents. Please, come in” she said, leading them into the house. 

It was homely and neat. However there didn’t seem to be many photos. The most prominent one was of a couple and sat on the table in the living room. She gestured for them to sit. 

“So what brings all of you here?” she asked. 

“Lori, I need to ask you about mom and dad” Alina said gently 

The team looked at Alina. She had never addressed her parents as ‘mom and dad’. Lori looked at her and let out a pained sigh. 

“So you’ve finally decided to poke that bear” she said kindly 

“Yeah it’s been a while” 

“What do you want to know ali?” she asked 

“Lori, this is going to sound crazy but please hear me out. Were mom and dad… were they human?” Alina said, leant forward on the chair with her hands clasped together. 

Lori looked at her for a moment. 

“Yes dear, i can confidently say both Clara and Casp where human” 

Clara and Casp, Cap smiled. Alina had never really spoke of her parents so their names didn’t come up all too often. 

Alina looked pointedly at Peter. 

“Why do you ask?” 

“Well again, this is going to sound crazy, but we were exploring the potential that… I’m not human” Alina said in uncertainty 

Lori tilted her head a little and then shook it. 

“I knew we’d get her one day” the women said   
“Sory, what ma’am?” Steve asked 

Lori took Alina’s hand. 

“Alina. Clara and Casp…. They weren’t your parents” 

“What? What do you mean?” Alina asked in shock

“They found you. You remember when they passed and you were sent here to live with your aunt? It wasn’t because she was your closest relative, it was because of me. Your parents knew they were going to die and they told me everything” 

“Who am I?” Alina queried in shock 

“I don’t know. Neither did they. They found you as a 3 year old - perfectly capable of walking to an extent and talking- in their lab one day. They could’ve alerted SHIELD or searched for your caregivers but when I spoke to them, they told me that for some reason they felt they couldn’t do that. They took you in as their own” 

Alina stared at Lori. 

“Why didn’t you tell me?” she demanded 

“Would you have believed it had I done so?” 

Alina went quiet. 

“Ali, you and I are very much alike - mostly because I pretty much raised you. You find things out when you’re ready to and you’ve been avoiding your parent’s death like the plague for nearly 20 years now” she continued

“So I may not be human” 

“It’s possible. They could find no birth certificate, no records of your birth or medicals or even a hospital you’d been in” 

“So they weren’t my parents” 

“They were mom and dad to you” Lori said 

Alina smiled slightly 

“Ali, you went to war to avoid the reality of who you are. I remember my heart broke the day you told me you were going to afghanistan. I knew why you were doing it, I knew what you were running from” 

Alina laughed a little in response. She remembered how much Lori had freaked out. 

“You have a gift. You’ve always had one, ever since you were a kid. I remember animals used to listen to you when they wouldn’t do so for anyone else. Other people always thought it was quaint, I think I always knew you were gifted” 

“Remember that man’s dog in New Jersey that time?” Alina smiled 

“Oh boy and do I!” 

They went somber for a moment, reminiscing. 

“Ali they may not be your parents but they’d be proud of you” 

“I hope so Lori” 

Lori nodded. Loki watched the interaction, saddened. He remembered when he found out he was adopted, that he was really something else, something foreign and strange.

Suddenly, a golden portal appeared in the living room. They all jumped back. Through it, appeared Dr. Strange. 

“Oh hello here you are” he said, looking at the group. 

“Who the hell is this?” Peter asked 

“I could say the same thing to you” he responded.

It took the rest of them nearly 20 minutes to explain what was going on to Stephen and to explain who Stephen was to Peter. When they finally cleared it up the two men simply stared each other down.

“Oh, sorry ma’am” Stephen said to Lori

Lori turned to Alina. She was standing in front of the open window now. 

“I see why you seem a bit stressed” 

Everyone hid a confused look. Alina did not appear stressed to them. 

Alina laughed lightly. 

“There’s more of them too” 

“Oh dear” 

“Thank you Lori. We won’t bother you much longer” Alina said suddenly

Lori smiled at her kindly. 

“Always my pleasure to see you. Alina you’re the closest thing I ever had to a daughter”

Alina smiled, tears welling up in her eyes. As she went to speak, there was a loud bang and suddenly she was covered in blood spatter.

Lori fell face forward into the ground, a bullet had gone right through her head and over Alina’s shoulder. She stood in shock. Steve ran forward and flipped the woman but it was too late. 

“She’s dead” he said sadly 

Alina hadn’t moved. Her face and torso where soaked and splattered in blood. She could taste it in her mouth. All she could hair was ringing, everyone’s voices faded into the background. As she stared blankly ahead she saw a figure out the window, standing on the edge of the property between the house and the maize fields. 

Demetri Aliyev. 

The team followed her gaze. 

He waved the gun in the hair lazily and the folded himself back into the maize fields. 

In a split second Alina was out the window and after him. 

“ALI NO” both Steve and Bucky shouted 

She had already reached the edge of the field and quickly disappeared. 

“Who the fuck was that?” Strange and Quill asked 

Clint quickly filled him in.

“We’re going after her” 

“I’ll stay here, make sure no one comes round” Clint added, taking his bow from his back. 

 

“Me too. I don’t want to lose control and rip him to shreds” Bucky added somberly 

They nodded and took off after Alina. 

// 

Alina pushed through the maize in a daze of anger. The Shadow had just taken from her the last tie she had to her life, to her childhood and to normality. A person she had been so careful about keeping safe from the things she had been involved in. The woman who had helped raise her. As she ran, following the trail of crumpled plants, she thought of the ways she was going to kill him. 

But when she finally caught up to him she stopped. He stood with his back to her in a large clearing in the maize, where a small shed stood, presumably for tools. She stood 15 ft from him, breathing heavily. 

“Good to see you’ve caught up” 

“You killed her you murdered her” she hissed 

“Oh come on now! She was old anyway, if anything I did her a favour!” he said 

“You don’t get that right. You don’t get to decide that”

“Oh please, I never had any of that. Anyone who cared, a family” 

Alina blanched. 

“You’re going to blame this on parenting” she growled, feeling the stones begin to activate 

The man shrugged. 

“But here we are though. You and I” 

“You’re sick”

There was crashing behind them and out of the field appeared Cap, Loki, Strange, and Peter. 

“Oh more friends. Cant you just see I love her?” 

“You deranged, nauseating piece of shit. You’ve never had the capacity to love anyone in your disgusting life” Alina hissed with such anger it took the others aback 

“DO NOT EVEN PRESUME TO KNOW….” he yelled, striding forward in anger and trailing off as he reached Alina. 

She was still soaked in blood spatter. 

He suddenly got softer. 

“Look at you. You’re a vision. The hair, the skin…. And under all of that, power” he said gently

“Well I’m here now” she growled 

“Mmm, not the right time still damn it” 

“W h a t” 

“Boys, if Alina Everton moves to follow me, rip each other’s faces off” 

The men behind her nodded. 

Alina felt sick. She watched Demetri disappear into the field again and slowly she sank to her knees, staring at the ground. She couldn’t even begin to process what she was feeling but it was mostly pain. 

The others came out of their daze slowly. Cap knelt down on one knee beside her and put a hand on her shoulder. She looked up at him, face splattered in blood and now dust, her eyebrows pulled together and her eyes full of pain. 

“Ali” he said 

She squeezed her eyes shut at the nickname and pulled herself to her feet. 

‘C’mon” she said quietly, beginning to slowly make their way through the maize. 

Peter walked ahead a little beside her. Gently, he grabbed her hand. 

“You know, the people I grew up with believe that when you die, if you’re noble and honourable, you go to a place called the fold and you get to be at peace. Lori will go there, trust me”

Alina nodded at him gently. 

As they approached the house, Bucky and Clint met them at the backdoor. Alina brushed past them into the living room. She stopped in the doorway and looked at Lori’s body, eyes still open in shock. She knelt down and closed the woman’s eyes before standing, clearing her throat and walking towards another room. She returned a few moments later with an envelope and sat down on the couch. 

She opened it. The team glanced to one another. A will?

A few moments later she finished it, laid it beside her and started rummaging through stuff. Eventually she opened a closet and pulled out a bag. It was stuffed full with weapons. 

“Unbelievable” Alina muttered 

“What on god’s earth?” Clint asked 

“She knew more than she was willing to mention to us” Alina said

Her hand rested on a strange looking gun. 

“What’s that?” Steve asked 

“Looks like some sort of stun weapon” Bucky said 

“I’ve seen something similar. The components looks similar to one Rocket has, though this one looks handmade” Peter chipped in 

Alina sighed. She looked like a mess. She handed the gun to Loki who held it in both hands, confused. 

“Shoot me” she gestured 

“What?”

“Shoot me. If it’s a modified stun gun it’ll knock me out we already know normal tasers don't work on me”

“I’m not going to shoot you” 

“Just do it goddamnit!”

“No!”

“Loki for the love of god just do it please!” 

He hesitated. 

Then pulled the trigger. 

Alina collapsed upon impact. Loki dropped the gun and crouched beside her. 

“Alina” he shook her, she was out cold. 

“Alina” he tried, a little more panicked 

“You’re an idiot” Strange said, crouching down beside her and putting 2 fingers to her temple. She immediately began to come round. 

“It works” She groaned. Strange brushed a piece of hair out of her face gently. 

“You’re an idiot too” he said again, this time with a fond tone. 

He felt a protective pang as he looked at her blood spattered face.

“What was the point in that?” Clint asked, whacking Loki around the head

He glared at him in response. 

“The point was that Lori was prepared. Mom and Dad must’ve given her a lot of for-warning about the next decade or so in regards to supers, enhanced and so on” 

“So she kept a small arsenal here?” Bucky asked, sifting through the bag 

“Lori knew what she was about. She always told me where she hid her will and that it should be read immediately in the case of her death. Besides, she’s the one who taught me to shoot”

“Good jesus” Clint said as he picked up an FN Scar assault rifle

Alina snatched it off him. 

“That’s where that went” she muttered 

“That’s yours?” Steve asked 

“Yes and let me tell you something Lori was less than pleased to find out I had one” 

“Jesus… Okay we need to go asap” Strange said 

“What about… sorry what about Lori?” Clint asked Alina gently

She looked at the body and the pool of blood staining the carpet. She knelt down in the blood, checked the pulse one final time and then detached the necklace from the woman’s neck, latching it onto her own. 

“It was my mothers, and we leave her as she is” she explained 

“What..”

“We can’t move her. The police will assume she was murdered if we leave her like this, which isn’t untrue. The more we tamper with the scene the more we put ourselves at risk. Trust me I know” 

“You a cop?” Peter asked 

“I have been” 

“God who are you?” He asked in wonder 

“I wish I could answer that question but I dont know myself anymore either”

 

Peter shook his head in bewilderment as she walked back out to the jet. Strange opted to come with them, concerned for Alina’s wellbeing. 

Peter spent the trip back teaching Clint how to fly his ship, which was to the displeasure of everyone on board. Alina sat between Steve and Bucky, still covered in blood and dirt. They glanced at each other over her head. This was only getting worse. They could see her starting to fray at the edges. 

Across the ship from them sat Loki and Strange, both immersed in their own thoughts on the situation. 

When they arrived back, it was evident to the other’s that something was not right. Alina brushed past them all immediately, to go shower her dead friends blood off her. 

Steve explained everything that had happened in detail. 

“Woah that’s fucked up” Rocket said, feeling a little sorry for the girl now. 

“How the fuck does he keep finding her?” Stark asked, confused. They had already solved the problem of her being tracked a few months back. 

“Well, he has mind control of some sort. Maybe it’s something to do with that?” 

“I don’t know but whatever it is it seems like you guys really need to sort it out. Like you’ve got some good ideas here, but they mostly suck” Peter said 

This earned him glares. 

“Can we just leave it for a day or two?” Steve asked 

Tony gave him a questioning look. 

“Dude she just found out her dead parents aren’t her parents, that her entire life is a lie and then had the closest thing she had to family shot into face” Rocket said

“Also Loki shot her” Peter said 

“You did WHAT?!” Thor growled

“Hey it was a stun gun and she didnt give me much of a choice!” 

“She was very demanding” Bucky said quietly 

“You think I’m not the most empathetic person here for this situation?! I know exactly what if feels like to be told your parents aren’t your parents and you’re a completely different species even to what you’ve been told your entire life!” Loki spat angrily 

“Loki is right. It is none of us at fault. We must blame this man of shadows before anyone else” Thor supported 

They looked at one another apprehensively. It felt that things were picking up, and they were picking up fast.


	47. Ancestors

“You alright kid?” Clint asked sympathetically 

Alina had showered off all of the blood and dust and sat in the kitchen dressed in black jeans, an even blacker t shirt and a black leather jacket. Her hair was tossed to one side and she sat with her chin in one hand. 

Peter had left with Rocket to go get someone. Tony and Steve had protested this and Peter had left Groot as a promise he’d come back and not shoot them all to bits. 

“I’m Okay Clint” she responded 

He put a hand on her shoulder and she glanced up at him with a small, sad smile. 

“We’ll get him” he said resolutely 

She nodded in response. She didn’t really know if that mattered anymore. He had already killed the last real family, the last tie to her life that she had left. Did it matter if they got him anymore? Did any of this matter anymore? She didn’t even want this, whatever was going on. 

Strange could sense her anger and confusion - it was showing through her magic and in combat more and more now. Beside her, Groot leant over and put it’s branchy hand on her head. She flinched a little and then looked at the creature. It smiled at her. 

“I am Groot?” It said in a questioning tone 

“Hey are we meant to feed that thing?” Tony yelled from the living room   
“I am groot”

“He says you’re fricken cocky, except he didn’t use the word fricken” Alina replied

“You can understand him?” Steve asked

“She has the soul stone, of course she can” Loki replied

“I am Groot” 

“Yeah bud I know” she responded 

The tree formed a little white flower in it’s hand, offering it to her. She took it gently. 

“Thank you Groot” 

It pointed to her nearly dry hair. She tilted her head slightly in question. 

Groot shook his head. He reached up and started detangling some of Alina’s hair and then began to plait it along either side of her head, leaving most of her hair down. As it braided, it intertwined more flowers into the plaits.

“UUUHHH TONY!” Bruce yelled from the glass lab which overlooked the living area.

“What?” Tony asked, enjoying his scotch

“We’ve got someone incoming!” he yelled back

“What, space boy and his talking racoon sidekick?” he joked 

‘Umm no this is energy not a ship????” 

Suddenly all the readings went down and the signal went away. Tony shrugged. Might have been a solar flare for all they knew. 

A few moments later and the Warriors 3 came barging through the door.

“ARE YOU KIDDING ME” Tony screamed in fright and frustration

“FRIENDS” Thor bellowed, striding to greet them. They were all smiling ear to ear.

“We thought we’d come for a visit!” Fandral grinned 

“Okay so at least we saw them coming” Banner said. Their system had sort of worked, but it hadn’t really provided them any defenses as it was meant to, nor block the Asgardians from entering the building.  
“Is that… a tree?” Sif asked, trailing off. 

“I am Groot”

“He’s fine” Alina replied, Sif moved her hand from the hilt of her sword. 

“Who the hell?” Strange asked, gesturing to the 4 armoured people. 

“Asgardian warriors” Alina said, rubbing her temple

“Who, pray tell, are you?” Fandral asked Strange

“Dr. Strange, Sorcerer Supreme” he replied, towering above Fandral.

“The time stone” Hogun said, staring wide-eyed at Strange’s chest

“Oh for gods sake” Alina muttered, she really wasn't in the mood for more introductions and rivalries. The situation was beginning to make her claustrophobic when all she wanted to do was be alone with her own thoughts.

“Don’t worry, Ali technically doesn’t have it yet” Sam joked 

“I suppose not” Volstagg said in uncertainty 

Groot continued braiding her hair, which she was thankful for since it gave her a reason not to turn and partake in the conversation. Thor had begun to explain Peter Quill’s appearance, Celestials, Demetri and finally, Lori. He paused and glanced uncertainly at Alina when he got to describing what happened. Alina did her best not to notice nor flinch. Fandral glanced at her, concerned. He and Sif shared a look.   
Although she seemed better than the last time they saw her, less frantic, unstable and broken, she still retained a sense of uneasy purpose. They presumed she was still unaware of the prophecy.

Through the door behind them, walked in Peter, Rocket and a 2 women. One with bright green skin and an a woman who looked as if she was of Asian descent, bar the antennas she was sporting. 

“Aw come on!” Tony said 

“What?” Quill asked

“How did you get in?” he asked

“Same way as last time?” 

“But.. arrhhhh..” Tony half-yelled, exasperated   
Alina locked eyes with the green skinned woman. Groot turned to her and waved, the woman waved back, her face serious and still. 

“A zen-whoberis?” Sif asked in shock, looking at the woman.

The woman stared her down. 

“Uh this is Gamora, and Mantis” Peter said, gesturing to the women and scratching the back of his head 

“Hello” Mantis said 

The group looked curiously at Alina, scoping her out. 

“I am Groooot” 

Gamora raised her eyebrows. She was beginning to believe Peter was playing an elaborate joke on her. This woman did not have the stones, nor was she a celestial. 

Peter sensed her disbelief. 

“Alina” he said, gesturing for her to come to him. She slid off the bar stool, laying a hand on Groot to thank him. 

He outstretched his hand to her, looking at her with kind eyes. 

“Um… Who?” Volstagg said, gesturing to Peter. 

“Starlord” he said, not breaking his eye contact from Alina

“He’s the other Celestial” Thor said quietly 

Alina glanced at him and sighed before putting her hand in Peter’s. Both their eyes clouded over a midnight blue, speckled with stars.  
She looked at the others with a small, almost apologetic shrug. Peter and her made eye contact, she smiled and slowly dropped her hand from his. In a moment, their eyes returned to normal. 

“Okay, so she’s a celestial” Gamora said, indifferently. 

“Show her” Peter said with an excited grin. 

Alina sighed again. She was getting sick of being a show and tell. 

She flicked her eyes to purple, pooling a ball of fire in her hand as she had done for Quill. She then flicked them to blue and froze Gamora to the spot. Gamora flinched in shock but Peter put his hand out to show her it was okay. She then activated the Soul stone and unfroze her. Lastly, she brought the mind stone forward, and lifted the knives off the kitchen counter, hurling them at the wall before making them disappear in a shower of golden dust. 

Gamora’s eyes widened, as did Mantis’ beside her. 

Alina returned her eyes to their bright green. 

“So it’s true” Gamora said 

“Hardest damn jury I’ve fought” Alina replied 

“Yeah so as you can see she glows and shit” Tony said 

“You don’t understand. My father will find you” Gamora said

“Your father?” Natasha asked 

“Thanos” Gamora replied begrudgingly

“Your father is Thanos?!” Loki, Thor, and the Warriors asked collectively 

“ADOPTIVE father” she emphasised 

“Don’t worry I get that” Loki said snarkley 

Thor huffed a little, his arms crossed. 

“Any way, who’s this?” Steve asked kindly, changing the subject and gesturing at Mantis. 

“Ya what’s her deal?” Sam asked 

“Oh yeah she can feel feelings when she touches you and shit” 

“Ohhhh do me!” Sam said, holding his hand out. 

Mantis took it and began giggling. 

“You are very happy, full of wonder”

“I want one” Thor grinned, goofily 

She took his large hand. 

“You are also happy!” she smiled back

“MEEEE!” Clint yelled 

“You miss your family, but you are contented were you are”

“Sooooooo accurate” Clint squealed

“Do her” Bucky smiled, pointing at Alina. 

Alina shook her head as Mantis approached her. The woman stood in front of her expectantly and Alina sighed and gave way, extending her hand delicately. 

The moment their hands touched, Mantis’ eye’s filled with tears. Alina stared back, keeping her face as blank as possible. 

“You are…. Heartbroken…. Confused…. Angry?.... So much sadness” Mantis whispered 

Alina pulled her hand out of Mantis’ 

“I think that’s enough” She said sternly, turning around and downing the rest of the whiskey she had been drinking.

The room was tense for a moment. 

“What’s your plan?” Gamora asked, breaking the silence.

“What do you mean?” Steve asked 

“If my father finds out she has even 1 of the stones, he will come for it. What’s your plan?”

“He can have them for all I care” Alina replied, pouring herself more whiskey 

“But what about the -” Gamora quickly stopped as Thor was making throat cutting actions behind Alina.

“-the universe” she finished 

Alina raised her eyebrows.

“I’m going to make a stronger drink” she said, disappearing into the kitchen 

“She doesn’t know about the prophecy” Gamora hissed 

“What prophecy?” Quill whispered

“There is a prophecy of a Celestial woman who has the ability to control the infinity gems. The only person who can defeat my father in his quest to wipe out half the universe”

“It could be me” Peter laughed 

“Really? Are you a woman? And do you have any of the Infinity Gems?” Gamora hissed 

She turned to the group. 

“Why doesn’t she know!? She’s a fucking Celestial, she would’ve been told the moment she turned 5 years old!” she continued, in a whisper

“She was raised human, had no idea of any of this until 9 months ago” Thor quickly explained 

“You’re kidding”

Loki shook his head. 

“She does not know of the prophecy. Odin feared she would spook and attempt to run from or make an ill informed decision had she been told when we were made aware of her presence”

“And what are you going to do now? She possesses 4 of the 6 stones already!”

“Tony you need to refresh your alcohol collection” Alina said, walking back into the room. They quickly stopped their conversation 

“I AM Grooot” 

“No I don’t think so Groot” Alina replied

“Alina…. Can I see you use the stones again?” Gamora asked tensley 

Instead of answering, Alina flicked her eyes to purple. Gamora stepped forward, setting herself into a combat position before launching herself at Alina. Alina caught her attack with ease, throwing her into the adjacent wall with barely a movement. Gamora pulled out a Katana style sword and attacked. Alina dodged the sword, grabbing the hilt and twisting it downwards. She put a foot into Gamora’s chest, pulling the sword from her hand and sending her flying backwards. Alina flicked the sword in her hand, leaning back on one foot in a gracefully dangerous position. 

As Gamora moved to attack again, Alina threw up a wall of fire. Gamora skidded to a halt. Alina then flicked her eyes to blue and sent ice out through the other side of the fire, freezing Gamora to the spot. She cleared a spot in the fire wall and walked through, switching to the mind stone and creating two long golden daggers - one in each hand. She raised them, crossed to Gamora’s throat. Gamora struggled against her ice bonds but was unable to break free. She stared Alina down. Alina shattered her knives around Gamora’s throat and freed her from her ice bonds. Behind her, she got rid of the fire, not leaving a single mark. In a flick, she switched to bright gold, the soul stone. Gamora stayed still for a moment, before outstretching her hand as a peace offering. Still glowing with the soul stone, Alina took her hand. 

As soon as their hands met, a golden light exploded outwards with a ‘woosh’ noise, spreading golden light outwards along the ground a ruffling everyone’s hair.

Alina took a step back and suddenly she was surrounded by glowing entities. Peter moved forward to protect her, as did Strange, but Gamora held out a hand from behind Alina urging them to stop. 

The entities came more into form and revealed 2 couples, several other people and someone who they recognised nearly immediately as Lori. Alina froze, completely still, still in her defensive position. 

“Mom, Dad?” she questioned, eyes wide in shock. 

“Well dear, that depends who you’re talking to” Clara, her mom, replied gently 

Alina moved forward as if to touch them but her dad shook his head. 

“You can’t touch us. We exist in astral-planes. We simply form into our likeness’” Casp explained 

“Ali cat, we can’t be here for long. Our meeting had to be triggered by both the Soul Stone and coming into direct contact with a specific being. We must make haste” Lori said

“I… what” Alina said, still in shock. 

“There’s something you must know” her mother said 

“Who are they?” Alina queried, gesturing to the other people. The other couple looked regal, and were staring at her with wide eyes. The woman had the same long dark hair and big eyes like Alina.

Her father sighed. 

“Alina, you know you are not our child. We found you after an experiment we were doing. We were trying to create a portal, to access other fields of dimensions, other universes. During that experiment we had a breakthrough, the first of it’s kind. We were able to access interdimensional space. However it quickly shut down and we speculated it as a loss. The next day we found you, a toddler, sitting very calmly in our lab. Rather than telling SHIELD or informing out research partners, we took you in as our own, making up and elaborate story as to how we suddenly had a 2-3 year old child. You didn’t seem to have any memory of how you got there or who you where. You only knew your name and age. Other than that you just seemed like a normal kid”

“Darling, we aren’t your parents. But these people are” Clara said, gesturing at the other couple. They were looking at her fondly.

“My daughter” the woman said in a voice so beautiful, everyone in the room shivered 

Alina simply stared at them. Her and the woman looked very much alike, that much was undeniable. 

“I am Ziran, and this is your father Nezzar” 

“Hi” Alina said, a little uncertainly and very aware that everyone in the room was watching her. 

“We did not mean for things to happen this way, nor to put you in the path of Thanos. You see we, and you, originate from an alternate universe - one dedicated to Celestials. However, one by the name of Ego decided to enter this universe and began to make himself known as a Celestial. He had a God complex and believed people of this universe would bow to him as a rare and powerful being. However in doing so, he lead Thanos and his minions straight into our Universe. Thanos was aware that celestials could locate and were able to interact with the Infinity Gems. When we refused to do what he asked of us, he began an all out war - a massacre. Eventually it looked like the end for us and we did what we could to get you out. Fortunately for us, Clara and Casp here had accidentally stumbled upon an opening into our universe right when we needed it most. We sent you through it and were killed not long after” Ziran told 

“These are your ancestors, Alina” Nezzar said gently 

They nodded to her. She returned the gesture. At this point her head was kind of hurting from the sheer force of the information being given to her and the presence of everyone in the room. Aside from that, she was trying to keep contact with the soul stone so as not to lose the connection. 

“Alina, we never meant for you to be put in this position. But if Thanos finds out what you have and who you are he will be out for blood” Clara said

“Why not Peter? He’s also Celestial” 

“Peter Quill, son of Ego, is only half celestial. Thanos does not concern himself with such things, nor does many other beings. But you, young one. You are a Queen and a Goddess. The last pure blooded Celestial to walk any universe known. Not only are you rare but you are regal and all powerful - You are the dreaming Celestial” an ancestor said, stepping forward slightly. 

“Thanks” Peter muttered from behind her. 

“Alina we cannot protect you from what’s coming but come it will. You must have a plan and you must get stronger. Thanos is perhaps one of the most powerful beings of all time and he wants those stones” Casp said 

“And if I where to just give them to him?” Alina questioned, still sipping her whiskey 

The entities all glanced at one another. 

“In due time you will find out why that is not an option. But we are not the ones who are allowed to relay that information to you anymore. Once upon a time perhaps, my daughter, but no longer” Ziran spoke softly, feeling her daughters pain and confusion. 

“Young one. You are confused and angry. But you are on a path which you cannot deviate from - have faith” Nezzar continued 

“And Ali, it’s not your fault. What happened could not be helped” Lori added 

Alina nodded, a flower shifting slightly in it’s braids. 

With the snap of his fingers, Nezzar formed armour around Alina. It was a platinum white/silver bodysuit with golden inserts and pure white cape that hung from the shoulders and was adorned with golden detail through it. 

“You are a warrior, a queen, a goddess and a sorcerer” Nezzar said. 

The team admired the armour. It was completely beautiful and regal. Loki, Thor and the Warriors 3 suddenly realised that this woman superseded Odin in all aspects. A queen among men. 

With a snap of his fingers it disappeared again.

“No matter what you were always our daughter and we were always watching” Ziran said

“You are beginning to get weak, holding us in your realm, we must go but remember, we are always with you” Clara said, standing in Casp’s arms. 

Alina was visibly shaking both from the emotional toll and from the strain of keeping the soul stone at full strength.

“Make the right choices young one. There will be many to make from here” another ancestor said gravely 

Her 2 sets of parents smiled at her, before the entire lot of them vanished in another whoosh. For Alina, it felt as if she had been holding a steel box above her head and was finally able to put it down. Before she knew it, she was on her knees. The room was spinning and there was a feeling of pressure on her chest as if she was unable to breathe. Her eyes were back at her regular colour before they fell shut. 

Loki was at her side in moments, followed swiftly by Strange, Steve, Peter and Gamora. 

She was out cold. 

“I’ve never seen anyone wield a stone at full strength before” Gamora said 

“There have always been legends of what the Soul Stone is capable of but never did I think I would live to see that” Fandral added 

“You were right Peter” Gamora said to him 

“Of course I was” 

She scoffed 

“Why did they not tell her of her prophecy?” Banner asked quietly 

“They said they can no longer be the bearer of the news. That means that the destiny has passed on from them now that they are dead and they are being prevented from doing so. It must be directly because of our own actions” Loki replied 

“What the hell do we do then” Clint said 

“Well, I vote we deal with the crazy dude who is shooting up her family and shit first” Peter suggested 

“And how are we going to do that? Considering he can control every single one of us except her, and even then he has some pull” Strange interjected sourly 

“What’s going on with who?” Gamora asked 

Loki gave her the quickest rundown possible. 

“He must be a mutant of some kind. I’ve never heard of a human of any form being able to do that unless they possessed the mind gem” Gamora responded 

“And even then, powerful sorcerer’s and beings can resist the pull of the mind gems mind control” Thor added

Slowly, she began to come round. She scrunched her nose slightly and groaned. 

“I am so sick of being knocked out” she muttered, still shaking slightly from exhaustion 

No one really knew what to say. 

She sat up, with Loki’s concerned hand on her back. She had clearly taken a heavy emotional and physical hit.

Tony handed her another glass of whiskey from somewhere. Nat whacked him around the back of the head. 

“Ow what” he said

“These aren’t the kind of issues to be solved with alcohol Tony” 

“I beg to differ” Alina said, finishing the whiskey

“That-a girl!” Tony grinned 

“But she’s right though. Strange?” Alina asked 

“Yes”

“Training. Now”


	48. A burnt shadow

“Ali is that really the best idea?” 

“Yes. You take half Loki takes the other half” 

“Alina you’re weak after that. You were utilizing the soul stone at full strength, plus… the uhm, the emotional aspect” Loki said, struggling for words 

Strange nodded in agreement. 

“Fine, I’ll do it without you” she shrugged, pulling herself off the ground. She nearly screamed in pain, her body was aching all over and there were sharp pains in her back and legs. It was noticeable.

Tony threw her a whole bottle of whiskey. He earned another smack from Natasha and Gamora put her head in one hand, shaking it. Alina caught the bottle in her right hand. 

“Pain relief” Tony grinned   
“Can’t believe I’m siding with Tony for something” she replied 

“That’s probably not going to help…” Bucky answered 

“Oh I beg to differ. Consider this, the stones are making me lose control - if you didn’t notice already - however, I have to learn to control them when I am vulnerable, unfocused, in pain and so on etc. Right? This replicates it to an extent. Plus, pain” she shrugged 

“That’s some right backhanded logic” Clint laughed 

“Look it’s not like i’m leaving the tower and i’ll be in full sight of one of these two at all times” she replied, gesturing to Strange and Loki. 

“Hey I’m not worried” Tony smirked 

“I think I should be there too” Peter added 

“Uh why?” Both Loki and Strange turned to him, arms crossed 

“Cause like you know, we’re the last of our kind, celestial shit, you wouldn’t get it”

Alina levitated another bottle of whiskey off the shelf and sent it flying into his hands. 

“C’mon then” she said, turning and walking out of the room 

“You know you can’t just keep avoiding your emotional trauma’s” Peter said as they walked down the hallway, Loki and Strange in hot pursuit.

“Don’t make me regret inviting you” she said casually 

“Hey I’m just saying! Seems like you’re kinda maybe trying to repress how hurt you are. I mean, I would be if my family friend got shot in the face in front of me and then like, found out my parents arent’ my real parents and that they totally lied to me and that my real parents were all powerful beings and that i’m on some sort of spiritual quest path”

As he was speaking, Strange and Loki shared a look. 

Alina turned and threw Quill into a wall, holding him by the collar of his jacket, her eyes a bright purple. 

“One more word Quill” she growled, her whiskey still in one hand pressed against his chest.

He didn’t look afraid or shocked, instead he smiled a little smugly. Every time they touched it was a power surge like no other, he didn’t particularly feel afraid. 

“What I’m just saying” he said   
“Wipe that smug look off your face” she muttered, letting him go and stumbling a little when she deactivated the power stone. She immediately felt weak and dizzy and he caught her with one arm around her waist. 

“Yeah real scary” he said, holding onto her. 

She pushed himself off him in annoyance and defiance, despite feeling more and more dizzy. 

“I still dont think training anything right now is a great idea” Strange said sarcastically

“You can shut up too” she muttered, continuing her walk 

Peter ran in front of her and began walking backwards so that he was facing her as she talked. 

“Look all I’m saying is that you all seem to repress some feelings around here”

“Let me suppress them in peace then”

“Dont see how that’s going to help”

“LOOK I’ll deal with it when I deal with it okay. I don’t know about you but that’s generally a lot of information to take in so I’m just going to take the underlying value from it which was essentially ‘get ahold of yourself’ okay Peter” 

“I dont know you don’t seem to be doing a very good job” 

Strange screwed his face up and Loki shook his head from behind Alina. 

“Quill I swear to god” she growled 

“Which one?” he asked feigning innocence and nodding to Loki

Alina paused for a moment and breathed deeply. She then activated the mind stone. Standing perfectly still, she remained silent. 

“Uhhhhhhhh” he said

“Peter if I hear one more word from you I will make you relive your worst nightmares and memories” the voice echoed in his head, he looked at Strange and Loki who appeared to have not have heard it.

Suddenly, she flipped back to normal and kept walking. 

“How did you do that?” He said running after her  
“Do what?” Loki asked 

“She like spoke in my head dude”

“Mind stone?” Loki asked Alina 

Without turning around, she shrugged. 

“I’m not in the mood” she said 

Peter ran and caught up with her with the same enthusiasm as before, opening the door into the training room for her.

“Thanks Peter” she sighed 

“Alright let’s do this” she said, turning to the trio

Loki noted she looked weak already.

Peter pulled out his stun weapon and tazed her. Strange whacked him round the head. Alina screamed out but did not fall to the ground.

“Are you an idiot? Actually scratch that I already know you are” Strange growled

“Hey she said she wanted to start”

 

“Not like that you fool” Loki said

Peter shrugged

“You alright?” 

“Fine” she muttered 

“Alright how do you want to do this?” Strange asked 

“I fight till I cant” she replied

“Doesn’t seem like you’re gaining much” 

“I will” 

“So you want to fight us” 

“Yes, you’re both magic users. So, use it” 

“Ali I don’t want to hurt you” Loki said sternly 

“You won’t. Not seriously anyway.” 

Nobody said anything. She activated the stones in conjunction with one another and stood, emitting a light shimmering glow. 

Strange sighed, shook his head and activated the Eye of Agamotto. Loki glanced at him and also took a defensive position. Alina smiled a little at them before spinning and sending all 3 of them backwards off their feet. 

She took a swig of whiskey and then threw it to the side, blocking a stun bullet from Peter with her magic - she sent it flying back at him and he was knocked out cold instantly. Strange and Loki glanced at one another, she was serious when she said she wanted a real fight. 

Strange, thinking it was a bad idea attempted to send a portal flying at her. To his surprise, she blocked it- sending it shattering into a thousand pieces. She tilted her head and the corner of her lips lifted a little. 

“Challenge me” she said 

Loki manipulated himself behind her, taking her by surprise. She gasped in shock and felt a shiver run down her spine. She hated it when he did that, it never failed to make her feel powerless. For a moment she just examined his clone, before forcing it to disappear. 

Loki reluctantly threw ice daggers at her. She caught one in her hand and shattered the rest around her. 

“I said challenge me” 

An all on fight ensued. The others later joined, watching from the double sided viewing area. Gamora watched in awe as the girl efficiently threw off the others’ attacks. 

“She’s got a fire in her soul” Gamora muttered to herself. 

Down below, both Loki and Strange noticed her power and efficiency. Peter was only just coming around on the ground.   
Together, the pair partook in an onslaught of an attack. Collectively, they managed to send Alina flying back into a wall, which was not their intentions. She hit the far wall with a loud bang and then the floor with a slightly less loud thud. Loki froze in fear he had hurt her seriously. To his surprise, she rolled herself onto her feet. 

She was clearly much weaker, from both using the stones together and from hitting the wall with such force. She stood with grit and determination however. The fight continued, with Alina knocking Peter out once again. As he was coming to the second time, Strange and Loki managed to throw Alina across the length of the room. In her weakened state, she rolled several metres and then came to a stop. Loki felt his heart sink into his stomach as she propped herself on one elbow and flicked her hair off her face. They had been fighting for near an hour now and she was clearly incredibly weak. She used her telekinesis to bring tony’s whiskey to her, drinking it again before sending it across back across the room. As she tried to raise herself off the floor, the double doors in front of her flung open in a dramatic fashion. She was still propped on one elbow. 

The entire room froze as they saw who it was. Loki felt his stomach twist and beside him, Strange froze. 

“You will all stay exactly where you are” Demetri Aliyev spoke

No one could move, not even Alina who was incredibly weak and bridging on unconsciousness already. Strange and Loki, as well as the other Avengers, realised this and it’s dangers. 

The man approached Alina, who was still on the ground and offered his hand. To everyone’s surprise, she took it. Loki blanched internally. 

“Hello darling” 

She tilted her head a little, and stood weak and slightly shaking in front of him. 

“My my it is true isn’t it! You’re mine now!” Demetri said gleefully 

Again Alina said nothing but stared in what seemed to be wonder. In her head, she realised what she was doing. 

Demetri laughed. 

“OKay… Give us a smile” he said 

Alina obeyed, smiling at him, her eyes crinkling a little. 

Demetri laughed again, gleefully. He leaned inwards and his breath tickled her ear. 

“Tell me you love me. Say it outloud” he said excitedly 

There was a pause. 

“I love you” Alina said clearly. 

If Loki could’ve moved he would’ve vomited. 

“Yes! YES!” The man giggled   
Alina reached up, putting her hands on his neck, the smile still on her face. The team watched in horror- had Demetri finally accomplished mind control on her? 

Suddenly her eyes hardened. 

“Goodbye Demetri” she said 

He went to speak but was cut off as she lifted him up and broke his neck. In the same action, she dropped his broken and limp body to the ground. Blood pooled around his head as she realised that she had crushed his skull, with the power stone still activated. Slowly, she felt the adrenaline rush fade and she sank onto her knees, and then onto her thighs, the rest of her legs diagonal under her. She returned back to her normal state.

Quickly the others joined her. Bucky peered at the man’s body. 

“He’s definitely dead” he said 

“Good” Alina whispered, falling onto her side. Her eyes still open, comprehending that she had just killed someone with her bare hands. She rolled onto her back and stretched her hands behind her head. Then, she flipped herself onto her feet and stood looking down at the body in distaste. 

“What do we do with him?” Peter asked, rubbing his head. 

Alina snapped her fingers and the body burst into flames. They all jumped back in shock. She shook her head at them, put out the fire, activated the space stone and opened a portal. She crouched down, picked up Demetri’s smoking, limp and bloody body. 

“I’ll be right back” she said, disappearing through the portal. 

As it went to close behind her, Loki jumped through it after her. 

“Since when could she do that?” Sif asked 

“She has the infinity stones, Of course she can do that” Gamora rolled her eyes, earning a glare from Sif. 

//

“And just where do you think you’re going?” Loki asked 

“Are you serious?” she said, walking away from him.

They appeared to be in a desert somewhere near dusk. Alina tracked through the sand in her boots, dragging a dead Demetri along with her. Loki skipped a little to catch up and then fell in pace with her. 

“Why here?” he asked staring at the surrounding sand hills 

“Nobody will see a body burning”

She threw Demetri into the sand, kicking some on top of him and then lit him on fire once again. 

She watched his body burn in silence. Loki glanced at her, his eyebrows raised and his lips parted in concern. Gently, he took her hand in his. She looked at him and gave him a soft smile. Quietly, she leant her head against his shoulder. He felt his stomach drop and his heart miss a beat. He quietly tried to control his breathing. 

Slowly, the body burned down to the bone, sprinkling ashes of what was skin and clothing around it. When it was reduced to barely bones, Alina kicked sand over it. Loki watched as she did so. She looked up at him from across the smouldering heap of ash and sand. 

“I don’t want this goddamn stones anymore” she said 

Loki swallowed 

“I’m sorry, I don't know how to remove them from you” he said back

“I know” she smiled a little 

He felt his stomach twist as she accepted his lie so readily. Gently, she took his hand again and squeezed it lightly. It only made him feel sicker. He may be the God of Lies but he hated lying to her. After the squeeze, she moved to pull her hand out of his. He held on, and she looked up at him with one eyebrow slightly raised. In that split second as he looked into her bright green eyes, he wanted to tell her the truth. He wanted to tell her everything but her attitude still signaled that she wasn't ready, that she was still facing too large of an internal struggle to be burdened with the truth. Instead he pulled her in towards him and wrapped his arms around her. She seemed hesitant at first but then returned the gesture, wrapping her arms around his waist and laying her head against his chest. He kissed her hair gently. They stood there for a few minutes in complete silence. 

“I’m glad he’s gone. I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you like I should have” Loki said quietly 

“It’s not your job to protect me” she mumbled into his chest

“Even so. I refused to teach you” 

He felt her shrug slightly. 

He pulled her in tighter at this. One arm around her waist and the other on the back of her head. Slowly, they pulled back from one another. Loki looked at her, worried. She looked tired and as if she was chewing something over in her mind. 

She smiled at him tiredly and gestured to the side. 

“Shall we. We’ve been a few hours” she said 

He nodded and she opened the portal again. This time as they walked through it there was a flash bang of green that blinded them both. Loki instinctively grabbed for Alina. Just as suddenly as it came, it was gone and they were stood back in the training room. Everyone seemed to be in the exact same place as they’d left them. Strange, Loki, Alina, Thor and Peter all felt suddenly very dizzy.

“That was quick” Stark remarked 

“What?” Alina asked 

“Define quick” Loki added

Everyone looked confused. 

“Uhhh like roughy 10 seconds….?” Banner said uncertainly, eyeing up Loki 

“What?” Alina asked again 

“You were gone for like, 10 second sweetheart” Quill quipped 

Loki scoffed a little at the nickname. 

“Dont worry you’re a sweetheart too” Peter responded 

Loki glared at him. 

“We were easily gone a few hours” Alina responded 

“No” Sif added in 

Gamora looked at Alina strangely. 

“You do not have the time stone” she stated 

Alina shook her head. She pointed at Strange who raised his hand a little boredly. Gamora eyed up the eye of Agamotto and raised her eyebrows accordingly. 

“Well, there’s your answer” 

“Pardon?” Loki bended forward slightly as if he had heard the green skinned lady incorrectly. 

“The time-stone will have altered your travels and timeline” 

They all looked at Strange. 

“Hey, I didn't do anything” he said, putting both his hands up. 

“No, Alina can still be affected by and even subconsciously will infinity stones that are not in her possession” 

“What?” Clint asked

“Yes, but in this case the time stone is in a protective casing which prevents that” Thor added in

“Not if she is already in possession of infinity stones” Gamora sighed 

“Oh” Thor said, he had overlooked that fact entirely. 

“You mean she can control the time stone without being in contact with it?” Strange asked 

“Yes and No. To an extent. It’s more or less the stone is attracted to her” 

“Same” Peter smirked

Gamora thwacked him round the back of the head. 

“What I mean, is that it will try to help her or aid her, since it can feel a connection to the other stones” 

“Well that’s not good” Alina replied 

“Again, to an extent”

“Well, it could alter any chosen point of time then, couldn’t it?” Banner asked

“Again yes and no. Nothing extensive but it may alter things it considers important. It’s hard to tell since no one has ever physically wielded this amount of Infinity Stones before”

“So what do we do?” Steve asked 

“I don’t know” Gamora replied. 

They all looked at one another apprehensively.


	49. Betrayal

In the days ahead, the mood was somber. Each person knew the weight that sat on their shoulders in holding the information from Alina. Each person, the guardians and asgardians particularly knew the precarious position they held with their knowledge of the prophecy. One night while Alina was out on call for Fury, much to their disgruntlement and disagreement, they sat down and discussed their options. The Warriors had returned to Asgard in order to keep Odin in good faith and stall him from taking any action. The rest sat in their informal meeting. It was nearing midnight and they had been waiting for an opportunity. 

“My father will not hesitate to kill her” Gamora shattered the silence 

“Thanos is unrelenting” Loki added 

“Yeah, so what exactly is his deal?” Stark asked cockily 

“My father took me as a child. He killed half of my people. He goes from planet to planet, killing populations in order to achieve ‘balance to the universe’. Whatever that means to him” 

“And you were his daughter?” Strange asked 

“He took me. Raised me as his own, his right hand. There are others, they call themselves the black order. And… my sister… who he -” 

“Tortured” someone finished from the corner 

Loki drew his knives, Strange activated his magic. Every person in the room activated their weapons and moved into defence. From the shadows emerged a woman, or a robot, or both. She was blue of skin colour and parts of her body were just that - parts. 

“Sister” the woman nodded at Gamora, her arms crossed. 

“Nebula” 

“UHHHHHHH” Tony proclaimed loudly 

“Nebula is my sister” Gamora said 

“A pleasant family reunion” Rhodey piped in 

“How did you find me?” Gamora asked 

“I didnt find YOU. I found the Infinity Stones” Nebula replied 

“Well it seems we’re on the same page” 

“Where are they?” 

Gamora explained herself carefully. Nebula became more and more shocked at the revelations being laid before her. 

“So what do you plan to do sister?” 

“Well you arrived at the right time because we were JUST about to have that discussion” Peter piped up 

“Kill her, take the stones and destroy them” Nebula suggested with a shrug 

“No” Loki hissed 

“Nope” Strange growled 

“Absolutely not” Tony added 

“We’re not killing her. She’s innocent” Steve continued 

“And the prophecy…?” Thor added 

“One life for trillions? You kill her, you offset the prophecy and can destroy the stones before our father can get to them” 

“We shouldn’t have to trade lives” Steve said sternly 

Nebula shrugged. 

“We cant kill her. None of us are even strong enough to when she has infinity stones” Rhodey added in 

“I suppose she would be aware of the prophecy and may be on her guard” Nebula said 

Peter scratched the back of his head. The whole room went awkwardly silent. Nebula stared at Gamora in frustration. 

“She doesn’t know” 

Gamora shook her head. 

“These IDIOTS thought it would be best not to tell her” Gamora hissed

“They shouldn't be the ones to tell her anyway. She should have known of her fate since she was a child” Nebula argued 

The room went quiet again. 

“Oh come on” Nebula growled 

“Sister, the end of the prophecy was lost long ago” 

“Yes, even the Asgardians do not have the full texts” Thor interjected 

“So what do we do?” Nat asked 

“She already has 4 of the stones. And, well uh we know the location of the 2 others…” Thor added 

“What” everyone froze 

“Well, i mean, uh the time stone is with uh mister strange and -” 

“Doctor” 

“Yeah, and the reality stone was given to the Collector after i contained it from Jane….” 

“What” Loki, Peter, and Gamora said in unison 

“Only an absolute moron would give the Collector an infinity stone” Gamora said in disbelief 

“Or a genius” Thor replied 

“Well then why don’t we just -” Peter began 

He was cut off by a window smashing and a blue, swirling portal appearing. The room moved into a lazy defensive mode - for the most part they believed it was Alina. They were wrong. A group of four, all dressed in black appeared from the portal as it snapped promptly shut behind them. An eerie feeling washed across the room and the members immediately retracted their laziness, each pulling their weapons. Gamora and Nebula recognised them immediately. 

“Greetings, Earthlings, Asgardians….. Others” The man with pulled back silver hair and a strange, deformed alien looking face said. He spoke regally and as he did so, gestured grandly. 

“You know it’s polite to knock?” Tony said, standing in front of the others 

“Stone master, does this earthling speak for you?” it asked Strange 

“No. I speak for myself and YOU are on the wrong planet. We’re closed.” 

“I am Ebony Maw. Willful servant and child to the grandest of masters, Thanos of Titan” 

“Shit” Peter said 

“Give us the stones and you will be spared” A woman with blue hair said bluntly 

“That wont be happening” Nat replied 

“Sisters, I see you’ve joined us. Perhaps, on the wrong side of the room” Maw spoke 

“Take the Order and leave Maw. You are not getting the stone today” Gamora hissed 

It was at this moment that Alina entered. Her face and hands had blood on them and she was a little dirty, presumably from whatever Fury had sent her to do. She stopped dead in her tracks as she saw the commotion. The room was silent, everyone prayed she did not try to fight and activate the infinity stones. The Black Order also considered her strangely.

“Do I want to ask?” she said to the room at large 

“Child. You are in the presence of the noblest servants” 

“Im 28?” she said, part sarcasm, part confusion. 

“A child nonetheless. And none of our concern - Deal with her” Maw nodded to Proxima who began to advance on Alina. 

She was separated from the group but did not look particularly surprised or fearful. She considered the woman stalking towards her with a calm regard. The woman pulled a knife from behind her and as the tip brushed Alina’s throat she froze. A light blue glow surrounded her arm and the knife. She tried in earnest to move it but to no avail. 

Alina’s eyes were a frosty blue. In return Proxima’s eyes widened in shock and quickly folded as she sneered at the woman in front of her. 

The whole room felt their stomachs sink. They watch, in quiet readiness to take action. If Maw had distinguishable eyebrows, Steve would have said he had raised them as he walked slowly toward Alina, hands clasped in front of him. 

“My my another Infinity Stone. It seems luck really is a thing on Earth” 

“Look ugly, just leave. Im tired, I’ve had a long day. Can we do this tomorrow?”

 

Maw took a step closer and then froze. 

“How many of them do you have?” he said quietly, the power radiating off her. 

“None of your business. Now get going” she said sternly 

“The prophecy… it’s real” Proxima said as Alina freed her from her bond and took a step backwards. 

“Prophecy?” 

Loki felt his stomach twist into a knot. It was still too early. Thor glanced at his brother who returned the look, eyebrows raised in worry. Between them stood Corvius and Obsidian. 

“She does not know” Proxima glanced to Maw in confusion 

Maw took another step towards her and leaned down, his face coming inches from Alina’s. She did not move but stood there, her breathing hitched and her eyes green once again. Maw raised a finger to her temple. 

Her eyes clouded over. Before her she saw flashes of countless memories: Odin speaking with Frigga, loki, thor and the warriors telling them not to tell her about her fate. The Avengers sitting in a room, with Thor telling them she did not know. Some people, she didn’t recognise detailing the prophecy and speaking in lengths about the missing parts. The revelations rocked her. In her head it made equal parts sense as it did not and suddenly she realised she was being lied to the entire time. The Asgardians knew exactly why she had the stones, The Avengers were told so. Every time she had asked, every time she was struggling, they had lied to her. All to protect some prophecy with no ending. 

As she came back to reality she gasped and stumbled sideways. Thinking quickly, Strange opened a portal and sent it directly at the group. They disappeared along with it. The room was quiet, Alina grabbed the bar behind her, her eyes wide with shock. 

“You lied to me” she said, her eyes glassy with tears. 

“Alina you have to understand it was the only way” Thor said gently 

“The only way? When were you going to tell me I was just your father’s experiment?” she choked a little 

Loki swallowed back his own tears. 

“Ali” he said 

“No! I said so many times that something wasn’t right, that I was confused and all of you knew why and still decided to keep it a secret. For what purpose?” she hissed 

“Odin thought that perhaps announcing the idea of the prophecy to you may have caused you to spook and run from us” Thor suggested gently   
“Alina please, we didn’t want to” Loki begged 

She turned her eyes on to him. Her eyebrows were furrowed in sadness and hurt. 

“You lied to me the entire time. You trained me saying it was for control but all you wanted was power, all your father wanted was power. You lied everytime” she replied, a tear rolling down her face. 

Loki’s heart shattered. 

“Ali plea-” 

“Dont call me that!” she said, raising her voice. She sounded heartbroken. 

The team had never seen her express betrayal or sadness of this magnitude. Thor looked to his brother and saw a tear drip down his face. 

“I know what it feels like to be betrayed… Alina its-” Steve said 

“And yet you still passed on the favour” 

“So what now? We kill her?” Nebula said 

“NO” Peter, Strange, Thor and Tony all said together 

Alina tilted her head back at the sky. 

 

Her eyes flicked blue again but her hands, which where curled into fists, glowed a fizzling purple. The room, in turn, began to glow that same purple and shatter outwards. 

“Woah woah woah woah calm down” Peter said putting his hands out in front of him 

“Steady on sparkles its going to be okay” Tony said gently 

“Is it? Because apparently im involved in some open ended prophecy and the only way to get these goddamn stones from me is to kill me which explains a lot really” she replied, her voice cracking. 

“We’re not going to kill you” Steve said 

Nebula drew a jagged sword. 

“We have to” she said, advancing quickly on Alina. 

Alina backed up against the bar, her hands grabbing it as she moved along it. 

“Nebula NO!” Gamora yelled

Alina looked at them in confusion. Suddenly, Nebula launched at her and she was forced to defend herself, creating a golden dagger looking sword and blocking Nebula’s onslaught. Gamora quickly joined, attempting to stop her sister from the onslaught but her, just like the others , struggled using their abilities and weapons without harming Alina. She couldn’t have them kill Nebula but she also couldn’t have them kill Alina.

Finally between an effort of Peter, Gamora, Strange and Steve they separate the two woman. Alina was backing away, looking at the ground with her mouth slightly open and her head swaying back and forth a little. Her hands were shaking slightly and her eyes glassy. She tried to speak but instead, choked a little in shock and on her own tears. All she could feel was tiredness and betrayal. The combination was damning, and confusing and resulted in her head spinning. They had betrayed her and now she was standing here having to defend herself in a situation she did not even want. 

Slowly, she felt herself losing control. Without any prompting, the space stone activated. She felt the power surge through her veins and hit her head hard. Tony glanced at Peter who raised his eyebrows in concern and tried to move forward. 

“Steady Quill” Tony said 

Alina was still backing away. The power she was feeling was uncontrollable and became even more erratic the harder fear set in. Loki had noticed this earlier and had his hand out to stop anyone else advancing. He looked to Thor with worry lacing his features. In this moment, Peter took several steps forward, his gun still in hand from the Black Order’s entrance. It took only this for Alina to back away so fast she tripped over her own feet. Her eyes flashed and behind her a blue portal opened. She fell backwards into it. 

“NO!” Loki yelled, cloning himself to her spot and reaching for her wrist to stop her running away. His fingertips brushed hers before the portal closed and she was gone. Loki stood staring at the spot she had once been, his hand still outstretched. 

“You fool” he said quietly to Peter, not turning around. 

“Where’d she go?” Sam asked 

“If we knew that we would be going after her” Strange quipped 

“Can we trace the energy signals?” Banner asked 

“I can’t. Not me, not here. I never fully developed the technology to do so. Not intergalactically nor interdimensionally” Tony replied 

“Well is there anyone that can? We need to find her now. The Black Order now know of her and undoubtedly will be going to Thanos this second. We need to find her before he does or the entire universe will be at stake” Thor said somberly 

“I know someone” Steve said from the corner

The team stared at him.

“Who?” 

“It’s better if I just show you”


	50. Contraxia//Wakanda

Alina felt herself fall backwards into her own portal. As she caught eyes with Loki she snapped out of her lack of self control, crying out but it was too late and the portal snapped shut behind her. She fell backwards for a short time before hitting the ground with force. It was soft and wet and as she forced opened her eyes she saw it was snow she had landed in and a that she was on the very edge of a forest. Not 200 meters in front of her she could see a village of some sort and here yelling and bustling. 

Alina felt the energy drain from her. She had hit the ground hard, whacking her head back against the ground and her use of the stones and fight against the strange creatures in the tower and Nebula had left her weak. As much as she tried to fight it, she felt herself begin to slip into unconsciousness. It was a strange feeling, an almost half consciousness. She could still feel the snow falling around her and the iciness. She didn't know how long she had been lying there in the snow when she heard a yell in the distance. 

“Is that a person?” 

Suddenly there were footsteps tracking through the snow. It sounded like a group but Alina was too tired and too weak to even open her eyes let alone prepare to fight. 

“It’s a woman” 

“Thank you Krugarr, I didn’t notice” 

“Sorry Stakar it’s not everyday we find a woman passed out in the snow” the guttural voice answered 

“She will be freezing” a female voice said 

She felt strong arms lift her out of the snow and shift her weight. 

“Thanks Charlie”   
She felt a shrug. 

“Well come on then might as well get her inside” 

“What is she, midgardian?” the deep voice holding her, who she assumed was Charlie, said 

“Mainframe?” 

There was silence. 

“No… something else Stakar” 

“What then? She is dressed as a Midgardian, appears as a midgardian” 

“This woman is a Celestial” 

Silence. 

“The celestials are dead” the other female voice said 

“Aleta, there was the boy” 

“Peter Quill? He was half celestial” Mainframe replied 

She heard a door open with a creak and there was a sudden warmth hit her. She heard the crackling of a fireplace and her someone put something down on what sounded like a wooden table. 

“Stakar! Don’t be bringing your dead catches in here now!” a male voice exclaimed annoyedly 

“She’s not dead Stefler” 

“You don’t seem like the types to go on rescue missions now” Stefler answered 

“We didn’t. Saw her just outside the village, unconscious in the snow. She was going to freeze to death” 

“Alright bring her over here Charlie” 

Gently, she felt her body being placed down on what felt like a slab or a table of some sort. Slowly her body began to thaw out as she heard murmured talking around her. She struggled to focus on topics of conversation as she floated in and out of consciousness. All she could pick out were words: ‘celestial’ ‘impossible’ ‘dangerous’ ‘solution’ ‘money’ ‘ransom’ ‘knowledge’. 

She did not know how much time had passed when she came to. Her eyes opened slowly and she shifted a little, groaning as she did so. She heard footsteps and a face appeared above her. It was an older looking man, maybe in his early 50s with pulled back silver gray hair. He was wearing a large jacket that looked leather in make and donned fingerless gloves. 

“Morning - had a good sleep?” he asked gruffly 

Alina sat up slowly and came to terms with the other figures in the room. There was tall black man in mustard yellow who she assumed was Charlie, a strange blue robotic looking creature, a tall red skinned alien who had gills like a fish, a small messy haired asian woman in deep green and another man off to the side who looked the same age as Stakar but had shorter cropped hair and a yellow-ginger beard. They all regarded her in the same way she did them. 

“I’ve had better” she replied 

Stakar huffed a small laugh. 

“You were going to freeze to death out there” Charlie said

“Where am I?” 

“Contraxia. It’s where Ravagers come to relax” Mainframe answered 

“How did you get here?” Krugarr asked 

Alina pulled her hair out of her face. 

“Through a portal. I was betrayed and lied to” she said quietly, the reality hitting her once again. She felt quietly sick and that uncontrollable fear washed over her again. She suddenly realised her predicament. She could not let these people know about the Infinity Stones. Not if they called themselves ‘Ravagers’. 

“You’re a celestial young one” Aleta said 

Alina froze and rose her eyes to the Asian woman’s. She considered it before nodding slightly. 

“Yes, but I didn’t know until recently” 

“So where did you come from? The Celestials are long gone as is their realm” Stakar asked 

Alina paused. 

“Alfheim” she lied   
“Can you get back?” Mainframe asked 

“I dont know and I dont want to” Alina answered. She didn’t want to go back to Midgard at least. Not now, not after everything. She didn’t know who to trust and more and more people were turning up there in search of her due to the stupid prophecy. She liked that no one knew her here. She was safe, at least for awhile while she figured out her course of action. 

The Ravagers all considered her. 

“What will you do Celestial?” Stefler asked 

“I don’t know. I’ll figure it out. Thank you for not letting me freeze to death” she said, nodding at the room and making for the door. 

It was at this moment the door was kicked open and 4 men burst in. She thought men loosely as they were clearly an assortment of creatures. 

“Ogord Clan. We’re here for you” the leading man said, his face was deformed as if it had been badly burned. 

To his right, a man with the face of a werewolf sneered. As an argument, and then a fight ensued it took everything in Alina’s power not to use the Infinity Stones and reveal herself to these scavengers. An infinity stone would be the ultimate prize to them. Against her will, however, she found herself involved in the fight as she was tossed across the room by a mutant with a white and black striped bald head. She shook herself off, picked a knife up off of the counter beside her and drew her weapon. Mainframe was on the wall behind her, Krugarr (who in that moment she learned was a sorcerer) was defending himself and Charlie from the 4th man who also appeared to be a sorcerer. Stakar was fighting the werewolf looking man. Finally, Alina’s eyes fell on Aleta who was on the ground being stood over by the man with the deformed face. 

“You will die alone. None of your clan can help you” 

“Well it’s a damn good thing I don’t know what a Clan is then isn’t it?” Alina said from behind him. 

He turned in a combination of shock and annoyance. As he did, Alina plunged the knife through his stomach. The mans face was inches from hers, eyes wide in shock as she twisted and removed the knife. Without even looking at Aleta, she turned and threw the same knife into the back of the man with the strangely striped head. The man dropped and then, strangely disintegrated into golden flakes. Aleta had moved to help Stakar. As she had done so the sorcerer taking on Krugarr and Charlie turned to her, sending a powerful blast her way. Alina remembered calmly what Strange had taught her in those first few lessons and drew on that. Activating golden circles from her hands and blocking the attack. 

Without second thought she sent a powerful dimensional portal back at the sorcerer, causing him to disappear through it. The sudden use of personal sorcery was one she had not encountered before and she dropped to her knees, and the back into a sitting position. One knee up with her forearm on it. Seeing he was beat, the werewolf looking man abandoned his fight against Stakar and Aleta and launched himself out a window and into the snow. 

The room was filled with heavy breathing which was only cut by the icy wind which was now blowing through the broken window. Mainframe slowly pulled herself off of the floor with the help of Charlie and Krugarr. As Alina watched them from her seated position, Stakar approached her. 

She glanced up at him apprehensively. Shockingly, he extended his hand out to her and she took it hesitantly. He pulled her to her feet and examined her with hard eyes before speaking. 

“You saved my own against an out of line and exiled clan just now, with no loyalties to us” 

“Well you stopped me from freezing to death so I guess we’re even” 

“Look, kid, you don’t want to go back to Alfheim right?” he asked 

She furrowed her eyebrows at her own lie before shaking her head. 

“Well you’re clearly a sorcerer of some kind which is already helpful but beyond that, you just proved yourself a skillful and worthy fighter as well as loyal” 

 

“Okay?” 

“Join our Clan. Even for the time being. It’s a win-win” 

The rest of the team nodded solemnly. 

“Stakar does not ask people to join him often nor lightly” Charlie said 

Alina considered the offer. She was not going back to Earth. Not right now, she could not do it. She did not know who to trust or where to go and everybody seemed to be looking for her there. This ‘clan’ offered protection in numbers and a good guise for an identity. 

Slowly she nodded. 

“Im in” 

// 

 

The team were on the Quinjet with Sam and Nat in the pilots seats. They had decided that for everyone’s safety they would take everyone with them. At this point they could not afford to leave people to their own devices, especially with HYDRA pockets, Black Order and the potential of Thanos. 

“4.0383° S, 21.7587° E” Steve said 

“Are you sure?” Sam asked 

“Yeah we’re coming in hot to.. The ground” Rhodey added 

“Alriiight” Sam said as he flew directly into the tree line 

“WOAH WOAH WOAH” Peter yelled 

Just as they were poised to hit the trees, they disappeared and they were confronted with a large, futuristic city on a waterfront. 

“... Woah” Peter’s pitche changed to be wonderment 

“Uh where are we?” Rocket asked 

Steve glanced at the Racoon before turning back to Sam with a smile. 

“Put her down over there”

They exited the ship to see a convoy of warriors dressed in orange and gold walking towards them. In the front centre, walked a dark skinned man with a purple and gold garb on. 

“Captain” he said in a deep voice 

Steve nodded and took his outstretched hand with a smile. 

“How have you been?” 

“A little worse knowing you have called upon Wakanda in urgent matters” T’challa responded

“It seems you have brought quite a party” Okoye pitched in 

“I will explain” Steve said sheepishly. 

“Come, we will discuss this matter in a more comforting environment”

//

“There you go. You’ll fit in fine” Aleta said as she admired hers and Stefler’s handywork   
Alina was no longer dressed in her blaring obvious SHIELD uniform. Instead she was dressed in a tight black full bodysuit which shimmered in the light. It’s full legs plunged into plated golden boots and it’s fitted long sleeves flowed into equally golden gloves, complete with a golden and black belt which was fitted with knives. 

“You’re a Ravager now kid” Stakar said 

“She needs a name” Mainframe pitched in 

“I’m assuming since you’re on the run you’re not going to want to use your real one?” Charlie asked pointedly

Alina nodded.

“Hmm any thoughts?” Stakar asked 

“How about Starhawk?” Krugarr pitched 

The team considered it. 

“I like it” Aleta said 

“Me too” Mainframe added 

Alina nodded again. 

“Starhawk it is” she said to the group 

“Welcome to the Ogord Clan, Starhawk” Stakar said, fake knighting her as he did so. 

The team giggled. 

“Alright what now?” Alina asked 

“Well we’re still here for another day before we can go out again so, relax. It’s what this place is for” Stakar replied

In response they exited the house, leaving Stefler behind. As they trekked through the snow, she felt her suit warm. 

Aleta saw her looking at her sleeves in interest. 

“Thermal heated fibres. They’re designed to heat your up or cool you down when you need it” 

“Neat. I used to work on tech like this a long time ago” Alina responded. 

They trekked through the snow into the centre of the village, walking as a formidable group. The closer they got to what seemed to be the hub of the village, the more people there seemed to be. Alina noticed a lot of the buildings they were walking past seemed to be bars or brothels of some sort. She also notice people stare at them, nod in respect or scurry away in fear or perhaps excitement. 

“This, is the Iron Lotus” Stakar said to her. 

He was gesturing at the building in front of them. Like the other buildings, it was decked with Neon signs. 

“You’ve got a new member Stakar. That’s rare for you” a man, who had been leaning against the entrance said slyly 

“And because of that don’t you think you should be fearful. I do not recruit members to my clan lightly Dever” 

“She is but a girl” 

“As is Aleta” 

“Aleta is a warrior and a former clan leader” Dever responded 

“And you say this woman is not a warrior?” Stakar asked, eyebrows raised 

“I say you are getting weak and sympathetic in your old age” Dever replied, earning snickers from the group that had formed around them. 

Alina scoped them out. It was a mix of what she identified as warriors and clan members, and what seemed to be entertainers, prostitutes and establishment owners.

“Starhawk is more than capable. Considering my clan is one of the best, why would I recruit someone who is not?” 

Dever grinned. 

“Let the girl prove herself then. Tullk here is one of my best, let your new meat prove her worthiness” 

Stakar glanced at Alina who nodded at him readily in return. He shrugged. 

“Go on then” he said, stepping back, allowing a circle of onlookers to form around Alina and and Tullk. 

Alina readyed herself as the fight ensued. It wa easy work for her as she used a combination of her sorcery abilities and combat abilities to very quickly have Tullk sprawled in the snow with a gun to his head. She let up quickly and looked to Dever who she gave a sassy salute to, using her gun. 

She heard the Ogord Clan smirk and giggle. Gracefully, she stood straight before leading the clan into the bar. As she brushed past Dever, he grabbed her forearm. 

“If you’re ever looking to join a REAL clan, you know where to find me” 

She shrugged and kept going. Inside the Iron Lotus was much like a trashy bar crossed brothel you’d find in New York. Neon Lights, scantily clad dancing girls, men sitting at the bar with their drinks and gambling. 

“We meet back out there in the morning ready to go” Stakar said quietly. 

She nodded in response before Aleta directed her to the bar. 

“You should know I am not too experienced in off world drinks” Alina said to Aleta 

“Don’t worry, Contraxia is a planet for relaxing. I will sort it” she responded 

Alina shrugged as Aleta ordered. There where a number of languages being spoken at the bar and strangely, Alina realised she could understand all of them. ‘The stones’ she thought to herself absently. 

Lost in thought, she realised Aleta was handing her a drink. She quickly snapped out of it and thanked her as they sat in a semi-circle booth. It was plush and made of an orange fabric which when sat in, you melted into. The drink Aleta had given her was much stronger than ones found on midgard and the atmosphere was warm and friendly. Aleta and Alina found they got on exceptionally well, talking different forms of combat, family, weapons, drinks and more. After a few hours, Aleta asked a damning question. 

“Starhawk?” 

“Yeah?”

“So you’re full celestial right?” 

“Yes I believe so” 

“What’s your actual deal then? Everyone else might overlook what’s going on but you don’t act like a born and raised celestial nor someone who has spent extended time on Alfheim - you’re much too humble for that” she laughed 

“If I told you, I’d have to kill you” Alina smiled 

“I’d like to see you try” 

Alina laughed. 

“No, I wasn’t raised Celestial and I have never even been to Alfheim” 

“Then why lie? The Ravagers do not care who you are or where you come from” 

“It’s not about not being accepted. I lied because important people are after me, my friends are after me. I did not want who I am, my name, my species being broadcasted to the universe. It would put me in danger and everyone else around me too” 

“Then where did you come from?” 

“Midgard, Earth” 

“And you lived there your whole life?” 

“I was sent there when the Celestials were killed but I dont remember it so yes” 

“And your friends?”

Alina felt a pang. 

“They lied to me about who I was and why I was the way I was for power, for their own benefits” 

“Rough” 

“Yeah well im here now” 

“Welcome home” Aleta said, clinking her glass with Alina’s. 

// 

“Can you do it Shuri?” T’challa asked his Sister. 

“Of course Brother but I need time” 

“How long?” Bruce asked 

“There are millions of possibilities to scope and connect. My best estimate would be 5 days, providing the source of power is as big as you say it is” 

“Oh believe me it is” Peter interjected. 

Shuri raised both her eyebrows at him before turning to her work. Flicking open her palm, she presented a projection which seemed to be of some sort of powersource. 

“What’s that?” Tony asked 

“I designed it. It traces power signatures. I stopped work on it to focus on other projects but in theory it could help find your friend” 

Tony looked surprised and disgruntled. 

“If your friends here are sorcerers as you say, why can they not just trace the power themselves?” Okoye asked 

Dr Strange looked at her with annoyance and Apathy. 

“BECAUSE trying to trace a combination of 4 stones intergalactically with sorcerery could cause an uncontrollable backlash of magic. We would be crossing planets, realms and dimensions”

Okoye looked to Loki who shrugged a little and nodded. 

“There is only one person who could do such a thing without catastrophic destruction on a intergalactic scale would be our father” Thor said 

“And why did you not go to him?” T’challa asked

Loki and Thor shifted uncomfortably. 

“Because our father would keep her under lock and key; as well as the fact that he cannot know we lost her” Thor replied 

“Lies and deceit never do tend to sit well on the receivers conscience” T’challa responded 

“So now what?” Clint asked 

“You may stay here, train, work, relax. Until my sister can work out a solution”

The team nodded and disbanded as they were shown around the palace. 

Towards the end of the day, Thor sat outside watching the sunset with his legs dangling off the edge of the roof. Quietly, Starlord, Gamora, Rocket and Clint climbed onto the roof with him. They sat either side of him, admiring the sunset. 

Out of the silence, Peter spoke. 

“So what’s your brothers deal man?” 

Thor glanced at him. 

“My brother has many deals. What did you want to know?” 

“Thor your brother seems to be taking this very hard” Gamora said 

“It’s easy, he loves her” Clint piped in, his hands clasped together staring into the sunset

Everyone looked at him. Thor smiled a little. 

“Aaaand what makes you think that?” Rocket asked 

“He goes out of his way to spend time with her, protects her, whenever something happens he blames himself heavily, even the way he looks at her” 

“My brother is exceptionally fond of her. Love, however, I do not know. I would like to think so but it is something rarely seen in my brother” 

“If he hurts her, I’ll murder him with my own hands” Clint said cheerily 

“We have to find her first” Gamora said 

“Where do you think she went?” Peter asked 

“It’s impossible to tell. It didn’t look like she had much, if any control at the time. It’s as if the stones sensed her strong emotions and acted for her. They could have taken her anywhere in the galaxy” Thor replied, he cared for the girl and knew from the start that his father’s actions would hurt her greatly. 

“So what do we do?” Rocket asked 

“We wait and hope that this technology can trace her before Thanos does”


	51. Outer Edge

The following morning the Ravagers met and boarded a rather well looked after spaceship. Alina took a walk around the interior, learning were everything was and memorising it.   
Stakar sat in the pilots seat and Alina took a seat behind him. 

“So what’s the plan?” She asked 

“We got word of a ship, absolutely loaded and greedy, out on the outer edge of the universe. It looks like a small crew based off heat signals. We’re going to go take them for what they have”

“Outer edge?” Alina asked 

“Yeah its where a lot of these small ships go to hide when they’ve got things they dont want people finding” Krugarr said

“Alright kids buckle up- we’re about to do 48 Space jumps” 

Before Alina could speak it felt like she was holding onto her seat, being sucked into a vacuum. 

“Woooohooohohooo” Stakar yelled 

It felt like everything physical was falling apart around them. Alina could not tell how long they had been in that weird state for. It was as if they were in a coma and when they finally woke up, they had no concept of time or how long they had spent travelling. 

“What in the hell” Alina said dizzily 

“Never done that many space jumps before kid?” Stakar asked 

“Im afraid not” Alina replied

“Well, that took us about a week give or take” 

“What?” 

“Yeah technically but were we jumped to has the same timezone as us so it really only took about 30 minutes”

“Ouch” Alina said, rubbing her head

“That’ll do it to ya” Mainframe said 

“Alright suit up and lets put on our scary faces” Stakar said

Aleta threw Alina a large gun which she strapped across her back. They stood near the exit to the ship, nodded to one another and then walked down the plank which they had forced into the other ships bearings. It was deathly quiet. 

“Where is everyone?” Charlie asked 

Stakar raised one finger to his lips to silence them as they crept forward, checking each nook and cranny as they went. Suddenly, a man jumped out in front of them knife poised in his hand. 

“Surrender your ships contents now” Stakar said 

The man yelled something at them and threw the knife. Aleta caught it by the handle in one hand. Seeing this, the man turned to run. They took chase, determined not to let him get into a position of significance. 

As they entered a circular room, they skidded to a halt. They were now faced with 4 men of different stature. 

 

“Like I said to your first mate, surrender your contents” Stakar said boldly 

“We dont have what you’re after please please dont kill us” 

“We’re not going to kill anyone if you surrender the contents. We’ve had you on trace and word has it you’ve been looting big” 

“Please we didn't even get there. We don't have it please” one of the men begged 

They all exchanged looks. What were these men talking about and why were they so petrified? 

“What do you think we’re after?” Charlie asked calmly but curiously 

The opposing group looked equally as confused at the question. 

“The.. the from the collector, the stone”

“You think we’re after a rock” Stakar stated skeptically.

“Not a rock… a stone… a… infinity stone” 

Silence hung in the air. Alina felt her throat close up. 

“You have an infinity stone?” Aleta asked 

“No!No! We don’t, we were going to try steal it but…” 

“But?”

“But it’s knowhere” 

“It’s nowhere?” Alina asked 

“No, its location is Knowhere”

Alina glanced around. Stakar sighed a little. 

“Knowhere is a planet and somewhere the Ravagers don’t fuck with” 

“You wont go there?” one of the men said 

“No. Knowhere is off limits. Otherwise don’t you think we would have stolen from it’s treasures much earlier? It is tripped with hundreds of spells and traps. It is not worth our lives” Stakar replied 

“So you’re not gonna kill us?” 

“Oh, sorry yeah we’re still going to do that if you don’t give us the rest of your loot” 

“Take anything you want man just let us get the hell out of here!” 

Stakar shrugged and directed Krugarr to imprison the shipmates in a golden barred prison with his sorcery. While he watched over them, they split up to recover anything of value from the ship. Alina and Aleta went on way, Mainframe scavenged the rooms surrounding the prisoners and Stakar and Charlie took the opposite direction. 

As Alina and Aleta walked, their footsteps echoed on the metal floors. They surveyed each room, looking for things of value - with Alina using her sorcery to send the items back to their ship. 

They did so in a sense of quiet comradery, until Aleta began to speak. 

“Starhawk?” 

“Yeah” Alina said as she examined a vent 

“You can’t keep running forever” 

Alina stopped and looked at the woman questioningly 

“Don’t get me wrong you’re part of this Clan but I saw your face at the mention of that infinity stone” 

“Just shocked to hear about it” Alina shrugged 

“You’re on a different path to us. Whatever your friends did, wherever they are and whatever you feel you are on a path that you will end up back on regardless of how much you fight it” 

Alina sighed 

 

“What if I don’t want to be on that path?” 

“None of us want to be on a path that is being forced upon us. But we must take them all the same, because there is always a pay off. I thought the same thing many years ago but met the love of my life, Stakar, in the process” 

“I dont know Aleta. There’s this whole prophecy thing and superhumans and mutants and stones and it’s just been nestled away my whole life as some elaborate lie my entire life”

“Sometimes the lie is part of the path. You would be a different person had you been told of your direction from a young age. Do what you need to do Alina” 

Alina’s head snapped up at the use of her name. Her eyes met Aleta’s in shock and confusion. 

“How…?” 

Aleta flicked out a little piece of what looked to be card from her pocket. 

“You had ID in your pocket. Whatever a ‘driver's license’ is? I’m a thief by trade, remember?” she winked 

“Damnit” Alina mumbled 

“Personally I think Starhawk suits you - Your name is too similar to mine for both of us to be rolling in the same crew” 

Alina laughed at that and shook her head. 

“What do you think I should do?” she asked the woman 

“You already know what you need to do - I cant tell you that. All I am saying is that whatever it is, you need to do it” 

Alina sighed and shifted her shoulders back, standing up straight in her suit. 

 

“I need you to take me to Knowhere”


End file.
